Show Me The World
by tkitty23
Summary: Flip Flop world where Natsu is a Celestial wizard and Lucy is a Dragon Slayer. (Nalu)
1. Chapter 1

"I WILL NOT DO IT FATHER! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"YOU WILL DO IT, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE! THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE COMPANY!"

" _FUCK_ THE COMPANY!"

A very loud slap was heard, "YOU WILL NOT USE SUCH VULGAR AND BARBARIC LANGUAGE! YOU WERE RAISED TO BE A SOPHISTICATED YOUNG MAN OF HIGH STATUS, _NOT_ SOME LOWLY STREET RAT!"

"…I would rather be a lowly street rat than your tool…" the young man ground out baring his teeth and furrowing his brows while his pinned the older man with a harsh glare.

"This was never up for discussion; you will marry the ruler of Bosco's daughter in a months' time, you will produce an heir to continue the Dragneel line and you will take over the company. This is what all the planning, the combat training and your studies have led to Natsu, this is what your mother and myself have always wanted for y-."

"NO!" Natsu shouted interrupting his father while still glaring at him, "…all of this- "he opened his arms out wide gesturing to the entire room, "-all of your _planning_ \- "he made quotation marks with his fingers, "-the private tutors, getting my ass beat over and over again during training… _ALL OF IT_ …everything you've put me through since mom died has been what _you_ want! Mom would _never_ force me to marry for the company…she always told me about love and romance…even the stories we read…she wanted me to find love on my own, she wanted me to live my life the way I want to, not how _you_ planned…"

Natsu's father lowered his head allowing his vibrant red hair to shadow his eyes, "…hold your tongue boy," he hissed out before looking back up at his stunned son, "I will be increasing your training and your studies. The princess with be here in two weeks and you will be ready by then," he held his son's glare until Natsu finally gave in and lowered his head, "…as you wish… _Igneel_ …" Natsu hissed out

He waved his son away not even bothering to scold him for using his name, "…leave. There is nothing more I wish to discuss with you." Igneel turned so he was looking out the large windows behind his desk while placing his hands behind his back.

Natsu turned on his heel and stomped out of his father's office making sure to slam the doors shut on his way out.

He stood outside Igneel's office gripping the hilt of his sword strapped to his waist while looking at the walls of his home, the mansion was bustling with maids and butlers running around getting their chores done for the day but that didn't matter to Natsu. Ever since the death of his mother, Lady Diana Dragneel, the house has never felt more…bleak.

Diana was a kind and caring lady, anyone who ever met her loved her and she always brought a certain warmth with her wherever she went.

Looking at the mansion now…you would never know that she was ever there. To the outside world it always looked full of people and life…but to Natsu…it was nothing more than a lonely and cold prison.

Natsu sighed and ran a hand down his face before standing up straight and walked down the halls intended on going to his room and sleeping for the rest of his life, funny how the world always seems to want to kick him in the balls now, "Master Natsu!" he heard a shout and cringed when he recognized the voice. Natsu turned his head and groaned quietly when he seen the older male just down the hall from him, "Master Natsu, your father has informed us of your increase in studies and wants you to begin right away."

Natsu sighed again, of course that bastard old man would, "alright…alright…lead the way Rupert." he was beyond annoyed now but not at his tutor. Rupert was a lovely old man, he was in his early sixties but still moved like he was thirty and his vast knowledge of the world never ceased to amaze Natsu, he really did love the old man. In fact, Natsu loved all of the help hired to take care of the Dragneel family and the mansion, they were his only friends -aside from his little buddy and his uncle- after all and he considers all of them family, some even being around well before he was born.

Natsu followed behind Rupert quietly accepting his fate to spend the rest of the day in the library cramming his studies into his mind. Though he supposed that it wasn't all bad, in fact he loved the library and spent all of his free time there reading, it was the only room in the massive house that still reminded him of his mother and he basked in it.

Though hours later when he stumbled into his room with beat red hands and a throbbing head convinced him otherwise, "I swear, that old man is the devil reincarnate…" Natsu pouted and flopped face first onto his bed relishing in the comfort and softness of his sheets, "what's the matter Natsu?" he heard a high pitched voice beside his ear and a small pat on his head. Natsu groaned and slowly turned his head to where the voice was and there sitting on his bed was his best friend, Happy.

Happy was actually a present from his mother when he was six before she passed away, she had bought his egg from a merchant while she and Igneel were away on a business trip over seas and brought it back for Natsu. Natsu took care of the egg for two full weeks until it finally hatched and a blue talking and flying cat popped out, they've been together ever since.

Natsu sighed and buried his face in his comforter again, "it's nothing Haps…" he mumbled

He felt another pat on his head, "come on Natsu, I know you better than that. What happened today?"

Natsu whined and turned his head again looking back at Happy, "…father finally made his move…he's making me marry the princess of Bosco…" Happy's eyes grew wide, "he increased my studies and training too…wants me to be _prepared_ for when the princess shows up in two weeks…we are to be wed in a month." Natsu turned so that he was laying on his back with his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, "oh Natsu…I'm sorry…" Happy teared up

Natsu lifted his head a little and moved one of his hands to pat the cat on the head, "it's alright Happy…maybe this won't be all bad. Who knows maybe the princess won't be a stuck up brat like all the others were…" Natsu didn't even believe his own words. As much as he wished them true all rich people were the same, prissy, stuck up and arrogant, always looking down on those they considered _beneath them_. Natsu quietly sighed and closed his eyes, as much as didn't want to admit it…she was more than likely exactly the same as all the others.

* * *

Two weeks passed by quicker than Natsu would have liked, nothing changed between him and his father who continued to ignore Natsu's very existence causing him to extract some of his pent up anger and took it all out on his Uncle Atlas in the training grounds, "that damn old man…treating me like it don't even matter anymore," Natsu swung his sword down onto Atlas' pushing the elder male backwards some, "he hasn't said a word to me-" Natsu brought his sword back up, quickly blocking Atlas' blade from cutting his face letting out a grunt at the pressure, "-since that day he commanded that I get married to this princess…" Natsu pushed Atlas off him and jumped backwards landing some feet away, he panted slightly while glaring at the ground, "we've never even met and I'm just supposed to roll over on my back and except all of this bullshit?!" Natsu growled out gripping the hilt of his sword tighter, "…it's money…money this and money that…it doesn't matter to him that he's taking my life away so long as he makes a fucking profit…"

Atlas sighed heavily, he couldn't understand his brothers' intentions with Natsu and he wasn't exactly pleased when he found out that he was basically selling Natsu off for a higher status and more money. This wasn't how Igneel use to be, he used to be a kind man who did anything and everything for his family…but when Diana became sick, that's when he first started to change. He locked himself up in his office and focused more on the company than his own family, Atlas had been there for Natsu all throughout his mother's illness and eventual death. Igneel never once comforted Natsu instead he chose to lock his heart up and pushed his only son away, Atlas knew he was morning the loss of his wife and love but to push your son away too…he couldn't understand, "…I wish I could explain my bone-headed brothers' actions away but I cannot. I don't understand why he is doing this nor do I think I ever will, all I can say is just try to grin and bare it. I know it is not your choice but I know Igneel still loves you very much…he's just trying to secure your future…however wrong it might seem" Atlas watched the boy he helped raise and couldn't help the surge of pride that flowed through his chest. Natsu was a spitting image of Igneel and himself only instead of their vibrant red hair, he had Diana's pink hair. He also -unfortunately- inherited Igneel's unrelenting stubbornness but had Diana's kind and loving heart and he always put other's happiness above his own though he also had Diana's fiery attitude. Maybe that was why Igneel kept his distance from the boy, Natsu reminded his older brother of his late wife and didn't want old wounds to open if he got too close to his son again.

As stupid as that may have been…

Atlas smiled, "come Natsu, summon that beautiful Aquarius' armor and let us spar some more. I want you good and calm by the time the princess gets here."

Natsu sighed, running a hand through his spiky rose colored locks before smiling back, "aye…alright uncle."

Natsu reached into his white dress shirt and followed the leather that was strapped to his chest until his hands landed on a pouch resting on his ribs underneath his arm. He opened the pouch and placed his fingers over the smooth metal of a set of keys hidden within the pouch, when his fingers landed on the one he wanted he grinned and then pushed his magic into the key, "Aquarius, please grant the power of your armor…" he whispered feeling the warmth of the key on his fingers then suddenly Natsu was surrounded by a bright golden light, a loud door bell was heard and when the light finally disappeared, Natsu was covered head to toe in heavy looking armor that was colored to look like the vast open sea. Aquarius' armor permits Natsu access to her water spells allowing him to attack with any spells she knows, " _what do you want brat?!_ " a female voice suddenly hissed in his head, " _aww come on Aqua, don't be like that_ " Natsu purred back within his mind, he heard her tsk and it caused him to smile, " _I'm going to beat the shit out of my Uncle, want to help me?_ " he questioned her and knew he had won her over, for some reason she loved kicking Atlas' ass, maybe it was because he was a fire mage.

She tsked again, " _give me a chance to beat the snot out of that old pervert…gladly…_ " she answered

Ok…maybe him being a fire mage was only part of it…he was rather touchy with the spirit whenever she was actually out and not her armor.

Natsu grinned and looked towards his uncle, he lifted his sword and pointed it at Atlas watching as the blade became surrounded by swirling water, "I don't know what you did to piss Aqua off this time Uncle but she's all fired up to kick your ass today."

Atlas let out a hearty laugh, "oh how I love that feisty mermaid, too bad she can't actually handle all of my manliness." he teased while flexing his muscled arms

" _WHAT?!"_

Natsu winced when Aquarius' voice roared within his mind, " _OF ALL THE PIGHEADED, LOUD MOUTHED, EGOTISTICAL, BOORISH, NARCISSISTIC, SELF-CENTERED, ARROGANT, ASSHOLE, I'M RUNNING OUT OF FUCKING WORDS TO YELL OUT! THINGS TO SAY TO A LADY, HE KNOWS I HAVE A BOYFRIEND WHO I AM VERY FAITHFUL TOO! I'LL SKIN HIM ALIVE!"_

Natsu shot his uncle a worried glance because it sounded like Aqua actually wanted to kill him today and he really didn't blame her this time. Atlas just shrugged his shoulders like he wasn't actually sweating and shaking in his boots, maybe he went a little too far today…oh well, too late to take it back now.

Natsu got into his fighting stance, holding his sword with both hands, leveling the hilt next to his face, he watched as the waters that were once calm raged out of control like a fast running river all around his blade, almost jumping with anticipation to get a piece of the elder male.

Atlas lit his sword on fire and got into his position waiting for Natsu to make the first move.

He didn't have to wait long and watched as Natsu launched off the balls of his feet, sprinting at him with speeds that actually surprised him and slightly caught him off guard, he was quick to recover and just before Natsu's sword came down on his head he brought up his blade and dropped down to one knee blocking the attack. The clash of magic's sent out a ring of energy around the two that pushed back all of the equipment within the room and blew out all of the surrounding windows, yea Aquarius was pissed and Atlas knew he was in for a world of hurt.

Four hours later…

Natsu was crouched in front of his uncle with his hands on his knees while he gasped for air, one of his shirt sleeves was ripped completely off, his pants were riddled with tears and burn marks. His forehead was bleeding -badly at one point- and he had to close his left eye from the blood flowing in it and he had a massive bruise on his right cheek from Atlas sucker punching him. Floating next to Natsu -however- was a very pissed off blue mermaid who had her arms crossed over her chest while she was busy glaring at the now beaten, battered, and bruised Atlas laying on the floor, "you learn your lesson you creeton?!" she hissed causing Atlas to flinch. He simply laughed and winced when he slowly stood up -with the help of Natsu- to stand before the Celestial spirit, "of course my lovely Aquarius. I take back all of my previous words- "he bowed before her gently taking one of her hands in his and placed a small kiss against her knuckles, "-please accept my humblest apologies for my transgressions."

Aquarius looked away to hide the blush that burned her pale cheeks though it did her no good, Atlas had seen it, "j-just don't let it happen again…" she finally said before she vanished back into her world.

Natsu immediately burst out laughing once the spirit was gone, "I-I still don't get what you see in her!"

Atlas shrugged his shoulders only to wince again, "I don't know either but that feisty little spirit really gets my blood pumping" he sighed almost dreamily

Natsu gagged, "GROSS UNCLE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT!"

Atlas waved the boy away, "one day when you finally grow up you'll understand."

Natsu gawked at the older man with wide eyes before he scowled and bared his teeth, "I'm nineteen years old…I'm pretty sure I understand it just fine…I just don't want that mental image…" he gritted out

Atlas laughed and slapped Natsu on the back causing him to cry out in pain, "DAMN IT! THAT HURT YOU GEEZER!"

"Eh, pain builds character."

"…" Natsu was just about to reach over to strangle the man when the doors to the training room opened up and then promptly fell off their hinges and crashed to the floor startling the two men out of their bickering.

There at the door stood a huffing maid holding a hand over her heart seemingly trying to get it back under control, "I-I'm sorry m'lords, I-I didn't mean to interrupt anything but Master Igneel sent me to fetch the both of you. The princess has just arrived."

And just like that Natsu's high spirits came crashing back down to Earthland when he was reminded of the fate awaiting him. Atlas -having sensed his nephews' sudden depression- placed a hand on his shoulder, "come Natsu…I will stay with you for the entire thing if you wish me too."

Natsu nodded his head numbly, "…please…" he barely whispered out but Atlas heard it all the same, nodding his head back and quickly followed Natsu out of the room to get cleaned up with him.

* * *

After some time, Natsu and Atlas stood before the doors that lead to Igneel's office and Natsu's ultimate demise freshly cleaned and bandaged from their scrimmage, Atlas -once again- placed a reassuring hand on Natsu's shoulder, "regardless of what happens in that room, I will always be by your side, no matter what your decision might be."

Natsu gave him a confused stare but before he had a chance to question him about it Atlas opened up the doors and gently pulled Natsu to walk beside him allowing the doors to close back up. Natsu winced slightly at the loud bang they caused making him feel like he was walking to his execution and not to meet his bride to be.

He watched Atlas leave his side to stand next to his father and it caused Natsu to panic, he swallowed hard and struggled to control his breathing but one look to his uncle, who sent him a wink and a smile, calmed him right back down, "it's nice of you to finally show up Natsu," Igneels voice rang out all around him, Natsu had to bite his cheek to keep from snapping at the man, "I would like to introduce her royal highness of Bosco, Princess Adela." Igneel held his arm out to the left of him to present the princess who Natsu just now noticed was in the room.

He had to admit, she was a looker, her dark brown hair was cut into a bob and framed her heart shaped face, her eyes were a lite blue color reminding him of ice, that sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. Her nose was small and her lips were full and painted with a soft pink color, her body was slightly curvy with a small bust line and small hips and an equally tiny waist, she looked like she would snap in two if he touched her wrong, she was wearing a baby blue silk dress that didn't look bad on her, he just wasn't a huge fan of blue, red and gold were more his colors. Unfortunately, the longer he stared at her the more pissed off Natsu became, it wasn't because the woman was doing anything wrong, in fact she looked just as surprised as he did when her eyes finally laid on him. No…what was pissing Natsu off was this woman had to be a minimum of fifteen years _HIS_ _SENIOR_ …

Natsu gritted his teeth and balled his fists, he pinned his father with a glare that he was sure could kill, "please tell me this is some kind of sick joke…because I am NOT laughing…" he snarled out

The woman looked surprised at his outburst but seemed to understand none the less, it seems that both she and him were not informed of their significant others approximate ages and she seemed to agree that this arrangement was not pleasing nor would it ever work.

"You will hold your tongue while you are in the presence of royalty boy!" Igneel barked out

Natsu subtly slid his eyes to his uncle who was giving him a look that clearly said everything he spoke before they walked into the office. Natsu looked back to his father and glared once again, "…no…I WILL NOT hold my tongue and you WILL NOT tell me what to do any longer!"

Igneel took a step back like Natsu had just slapped him in the face before recollecting himself and just when he was about to speak Natsu interrupted, "you will not control me any longer…I am tired of you dicking me around like I am just some measly puppet that you can play with whenever you feel like it. I am 19 years old and I haven't been out of this house since mom died, well you know what? I'M FUCKING TIRED OF IT!"

Natsu turned on his heels and began walking to the doors, "You take one step out of this office and you can consider yourself abandoned and forbidden from the house of Dragneel…"

Natsu stopped and took a deep breath before turning his head to look over his shoulder, "you already abandoned me a long time ago…" he looked at his uncle one more time before facing forward and walked out the doors.

* * *

He didn't stop walking until he was safe within his room where he finally let out the breath that he didn't even know he was holding, he looked around his room for a quick second before making up his mind. He walked to his bed and couched down grabbing hold of a large empty backpack and placed it on his bed, he then went to his dresser and his closet and pulled out as many sets of clothes as he could carefully folding them and placing them neatly within the bag. He then walked to the bathroom and grabbed his soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor and hairbrush, he closed them all in a zip-lock baggy and placed it in the bag as well. He then walked to the painting of his mother that was hanging in his room watching over him and gently pulled it forwards to reveal a safe behind the painting, he placed his combination in and unlocked it opening it up as soon as he heard the distinctive click reaching in and taking all of his savings out. He had roughly 600,000 jewels saved and would be more than enough to get by on until he could figure out what he wanted to do once he left the mansion. He reached in the safe once more and pulled out a small black box, he simply held the box in his shaky hands for a second before he summoned the courage to open it up, inside was a necklace and attached to the necklace was a single golden key. It was his mothers and she had given it to him on her death bed stating that when he needed her guidance to put the necklace on and she would be with him always.

Natsu softly smiled at the last memory that he had of Diana and carefully pulled the necklace from its pillow within the box. He gripped his jewels in one hand while he used his other to pull the chain over his head and finally rest against his chest, he instantly felt calmer, like he could take on the entire world.

He grinned brightly walking back to his bed to place all of his savings in a hidden pocket inside of his backpack. He closed it up completely and set it aside then walked to the table beside his bed and picked up his sword strapping it to his hip, he picked up his precious keys next and instead of hiding the keys underneath his shirt he placed his halter over his shirt and adjusted it how he needed to to have easy access to his keys should he run into trouble on the road. Once he was satisfied that he had everything he needed he walked back to his closet and took out his black and gold cloak, he wrapped it around his shoulders and secured the buttons in front before walking back to the bed, he picked up his -now full and heavy- backpack and shrugged it on his shoulders underneath his cloak.

After everything was ready he walked to the head of the bed and picked up Happy, who was sleeping away without a care in the world, cradling the cat close to his chest, "we're getting out of here Happy," he whispered to the feline and walked to the doors leading out of his room.

Just as he was about to put his hand on the knob a soft knock sounded against the wood, Natsu lowered his brows and lifted Happy up over his head and placed him in the hood of his cloak before opening the door to find Atlas standing there, "Uncle?" Natsu asked in a very confused voice, "what are you doing here? Does my father know you're here?" he questioned the older male.

Atlas just pushed his way in and closed the doors behind him, "I just wanted to see you off and give you a few things before you leave."

Natsu again had a confused look while he eyed his family member, "you…you're not going to stop me?"

Atlas shook his head and smiled at him, "I told you earlier that I would always be by your side regardless of whatever it is you choose."

Natsu smiled and felt his eyes burn, he blinked a couple times to keep the tears at bay, "…thank you, Uncle…" Natsu pulled him in for a hug and squeezed him with all his might feeling Atlas wrap his arms around him and squeeze back.

Atlas finally pulled back and handed Natsu a small bag, "here, just a few supplies that I thought you might need. Some dried meat, bread, water and a communication lacrima. That lacrima automatically connects to mine with just a small amount of magic, you keep in contact with me and let me know where you are and how you are at all times." he pinned Natsu with a glare that clearly stated he would kick his ass if he didn't comply with his wishes but also held a vast amount of worry and fear. Natsu knew his uncle would miss him dearly and he knew that he was worried about him going out into the world by himself, "I will uncle, I swear to you on my honor as a Celestial warrior." Natsu held his hand up and Atlas wrapped his thumb around Natsu's closing his fist against the back of his hand while Natsu did the same, they gripped their hands against each other as a way of saying not to worry that everything will be fine.

They finally let go and nodded to each other, Atlas side stepped out of the way and watched as Natsu sent him one last smile before opening the door and walked out.

Natsu was finally starting his life

And nobody would stand in his way!

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Ok, so yet again I had a crazy idea in my head for another story and HAD to get it written down.**_

 _ **I'm flip flopping Natsu and Lucys' lives, Natsu is the rich Celestial wizard and Lucy is destructive Dragon Slayer.**_

 _ **Natsu will be the brains like Lucy is while Lucy will be the slightly simple minded oblivious one. XD**_

 _ **I will have it go off of the show with some slight changes here and there.**_

 _ **I'm rating it T for now but it all depends on if I decide to do lemons but that won't be till waaaaay down the road if I do lol.**_

 _ **It is a NaLu story though.**_

 _ **Other than that Hiro still owns all the characters and I'm still depressed about it T_T**_

 _ **Please leave me reviews and let me know what you guys think, again depending on what you guys say will determine if i continue this or not.**_

 _ **So PLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE, let me know :)**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	2. Chapter 2

A soft breeze blew against Natsu's face, he closed his eyes smiling while he inhaled deeply. The scent of salt water and fish wafted heavily around his nostrils from the vast open sea he was standing in front of. Natsu and Happy finally made it to a little fisher town called Hargeon where they planned to stock up on supplies before moving on but not until they explored the place first.

They have been on the road for little over a year and Natsu was loving every minute of it, from the different sites and sounds to the wonderful people he's met along the way, he's never once regretted his decision to leave the mansion.

Natsu was quick to learn that being able to summon the Celestial armor was nothing short of amazing to the outside world and ranked him to be a very powerful wizard. He supposed the training he was forced to endure was the only thing he was actually grateful to his father for but he was more grateful to his Uncle Atlas for kicking his ass into shape.

Unfortunately, he also had to learn that life outside of the mansion isn't full of the luxuries that he's grown accustom too. He learned after the first month that he wasn't going to be able to afford a hotel every single night if he wanted his money to last for as long as possible at least until he could figure out a way to make more jewels.

He will admit, the first night he decided to _'ruff it in the woods'_ was nothing short of miserable. He wasn't sure what was worse, the constant bugs nipping at his skin, the sudden downpour of rain that literally came out of nowhere, the horrible back pain he had the next morning from sleeping on a rock or the random wildlife that decided he and Happy looked tasty. But he refused to let a little camping fluke detour him and the next town Happy and him had made it too they bought camping supplies which proved that all their future night outs that much better and Natsu actually found that he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the outdoors to the hustle and bustle of the towns. Though he still stayed in hotels if not for the simple fact that Natsu couldn't stand being dirty for longer than a few days, nice hot showers or baths were always a must in his books.

He wasn't exactly keen on looking and smelling like a mountain man no matter how much he might like the outdoors…

Natsu opened his eyes and sighed happily at the view that Hargeon provided before it immediately dropped into an irritated glare when Happy fluttered right in front of his face with a frown and his tiny arms crossed over his chest, "what Happy? You're blocking my view…" he wined and Happy merely rolled his eyes, "Natsu, you need to figure out what you want to do…we can't keep huffing it in the wild like we have been, we're going to run out of money soon and you can't do any jobs as a mage without being in one of those guild thingies..." Happy wined, he's been trying to get Natsu to understand their situation and find them a place to live but he's been quite the brat about it…

Natsu sighed and dropped his chin to his chest so he was looking at the ground now, "I know…I know Happy…I'm just not ready to settle down yet, to have to get a job…work and pay bills…" Natsu gagged at the thought and looked back up at the feline, "I'm not ready to give up my freedom…there's still so much of this world that we haven't seen yet and I want to see it all. We've been cooped up in that mansion for years and now that I've had a taste of freedom I refuse to give it up…" Natsu reached a hand up and scratched behind Happys' ears.

Happy purred slightly but then sagged, "I'm not asking you to give up your freedom Natsu. I know better than most how miserable you were in that place," he dropped down into Natsu's arms when he opened them wide gesturing for the cat to land. He rubbed his head against Natsu chest," I just…I just want a place that we can call ours…that we can call our home and actually have it feel like a home. We have no idea how guilds actually work or even how you do a job for them or whatever but we can't keep doing what we are doing…" Happy teared up and pushed his face farther into Natsu's chest.

Natsu sighed heavily again and looked back out to the ocean, the sun was just setting and painted the sky in a brilliant flame of reds, pinks, oranges and blues, it was truly a site to behold, "I'm sorry Happy…" he whispered still looking to the ocean. He felt Happy move and could feel his eyes staring at him, "for what Natsu?" Happy questioned his best friend.

Natsu let out a long breath through his nose then looked down at the cat, "I've only been thinking about what I wanted…I haven't been taking into consideration what you want and for that…I am sorry." he brought Happy up to his face so he could look the cat in the eyes, "I _have_ been looking into the guilds and out of all of them that we've researched I've narrowed it down to three possibilities for us to join: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Fairy Tail. However out of those three, the only one that really catches my eye is the Fairy Tail guild, while the other two seem nice enough Fairy Tail seems…I'm not sure…more wild and adventurous I suppose. I've read a lot about some of their top mages and a few really peaked my interest though everything I've ever read never showed pictures of them so I have no idea what they look like, only a seemingly long list of destruction," Natsu laughed, "I have to say the one they call Salamander has really caught my attention, that guy causes more damage than all of them combined but everyone seems to love him. Plus, it says he's a fire mage so maybe he's like Uncle Atlas."

Happy's eyes grew wide and he placed his paws on Natsu's cheeks to keep him from talking more, "you've really been looking?"

Natsu smiled and nodded, "aye, I do understand how important it is to you for us to have a home again. I just wanted to put it off for as long as I could and I see now that my decision has caused you to suffer and for that, I am truly sorry…"

Happy smiled back and smashed himself against Natsu's chest again, "I understand Natsu and its ok, I forgive you."

Natsu patted the feline's head and finished watching the sun completely disappear and allowed the moon and stars to come out to shine, he shivered slightly when the breeze picked up, "come on Haps, lets head out and find a good spot to camp for the night."

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted summoning his wings to fly next to Natsu

Natsu and Happy were just about to walk away from the ocean side when a faint call for help stopped them in their tracks, "…did you hear that too Natsu?" Happy whispered while he looked all around them

Natsu's eyes narrowed and he nodded his head, "aye…I heard it but where did it come from…"

Happy shook his head, "I don't know…but it didn't sound close to us…"

They stood quietly and listened for any signs of the distressed voice again, "…help please!"

It sounded closer and much to the two males surprise, it was coming from the ocean.

Natsu walked onto the beach and stopped just before the water could reach his feet and waited, suddenly he could spot what looked like a white blob quickly making its way to the town, "HELP! PLEASE! MY FIREND NEEDS HELP!" the blob shouted

Natsu lifted his hand above his head and waved it, "OVER HERE!" he shouted

Whatever it was seemed to have heard him and speed towards him, though the closer it got the wider the boys eyes seemed to get. The white blob…was a cat and not just any cat…a flying, talking cat, just like Happy, all this time they thought Happy was the only one…guess they were wrong.

The cat stopped in front of them finally, panting slightly to get air back into its lungs and Natsu studied the small feline some more, it was completely white in color except for the circle of orange that covered its mouth and nose, "p-please…." the cat huffed, "p-please…m-my friend…s-she needs help…" he finally said in between breaths.

Natsu looked confused for a second and raised a brow, "she?"

The cat took one last deep breath in through his nose and let it back out, "aye she, Lucy, I told her not to go on that boat but she neeeeeeever listens to me. I told her we needed a plan to get them off the boat so she could take them all out easily but then we started arguing and she was saying that she doesn't like planning that she would rather just smash their faces in and I told her that she was being stupid that she knows she can't handle transportation if the boat all of a sudden started moving but she waved me off like it was nothing and it made me angry cuz I'm just trying to look out for her like I promised I would. Then she jumped on the boat and started fighting everyone before I had a chance to stop her and then to make things even worse the boat started moving and she immediately dropped to the floor and started getting wailed on. I followed and tried to fly closer to her to pick her up so she wasn't on the boat anymore but the boat was going really really fast and they had magic guns and were shooting at me so I came back to town to try and find someone that can use magic to push that boat back to shore, so here I am…" the cat rambled on and on so fast that Natsu and Happy could only get bits and pieces of the explanation.

Natsu put his hands up and waved them back and forth, "woah woah wait a second," the cat stopped his pace flying and rambling to look at the two, "alright, so let me see if I understand this. Your friend, for whatever reason, attacked a bunch of people on a boat while the boat was in the port. Then the boat moved to head out to sea and it caused your friend to become sick, I'm guessing and took her down for the count. Then when you tried to swoop in to save her you were shot at by the people on the boat that she attacked and came back to town to find, I'm guessing a mage, to push that boat back to port and save your friend?" Natsu questioned hoping he understood the fast paced explanation he was given.

The cat rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest giving them a bored look, "well duh, that's exactly what I said. You're not very smart are you?"

Natsu felt a tick mark appear on his head and he gritted his teeth and balled his fists, this cat was aggravating… "just lead the way to this boat, I'll get it back to shore."

The cat nodded his head and took off over the ocean towards the boat, Happy grabbed the back of Natsu's cloak and followed after the white cat, "I'm Natsu by the way," he stated once they were flying next to the feline. He pointed over his shoulder, "and this is Happy."

The white cat smiled big and pointed at his chest, "I'm Plue, nice ta meetcha!"

It didn't take them long to catch up to the boat and true to Plue's words the moment they were spotted the people on the boat started shooting at them, Plue frowned, "I don't see her…they must have moved her inside…"

Natsu gave Plue a worried look then pointed past the boat, "take us in front of the boat Happy," as Happy was getting him into position Natsu reached into his key pouch and touched Aquarius' key while unsheathing his sword, " _Aqua, please grant me your powers for just a little bit. I need to help save someone."_ he heard a growl in his mind, " _I'm on a date brat!"_ Natsu sighed quietly, " _I know, I'm sorry but someone needs my help. Please just this once and I promise I won't call on you for a while. I only need your waters around my sword not the full armor."_

He heard her let out an aggravated sigh and it caused him to smile because a second afterwards his sword was covered in Aquarius' familiar waters, " _thank you Aqua."_ she tsked, " _whatever brat, just make it quick."_

Natsu looked over his shoulder, "alright Happy, drop me directly in front of the boat."

Happy hesitated, "are you sure Natsu?"

Natsu smiled and looked down at the boat, "aye"

Happy whimpered but complied to Natsu's request and let go, he watched Natsu plummet towards the ocean with his sword above his head and just before he hit the water Natsu swung the sword over his head and down on the ocean's surface with enough force that Aquarius' water created a tidal wave that rocketed the boat back to shore.

Happy and Plue flew down and both plucked Natsu out of the water and quickly dashed back to shore, Natsu winced once he seen just where the boat ended up, "…I guess we let out too much power," he chuckled at the destruction Aquarius' waters had caused. The boat was now laying on its side in a crumbled mess on the beach, Plue took off towards the boat shouting out for his friend and Natsu silently cursed himself, his friend was probably hurt more now because of him.

Natsu and Happy took off towards the destroyed boat and were praying to the gods that nobody was injured, they stopped dead in their tracks, however, when they were almost mobbed by screaming and panicking women who were running out of the wrecked boat. They watched the women sprint away leaving them with more questions than answers and again seemingly out of nowhere they heard a laugh. The sound floated around Natsu like a gentle breeze of warm summer air and he felt a pleasant chill roll down his spine, "THAT WAS FUN!" he heard a female voice shout out, he turned his body and darted his head in all directions trying to find the source of the laugh and shout, "LUCY!" he heard Plue shout and he looked up.

His entire world seemed to stop completely, his breath hitched, his eyes grew wide, his mouth dropped open and his heart started pounding fast, was he looking a goddess? She was absolutely stunning; her long golden hair was tied up into a high ponytail, she had bangs that dropped down into her eyes, her face was in the shape of a heart, her nose was small and cute, her lips were full and plump, her neck caught his attention because wrapped around it was what looked like a white scaled scarf which was odd considering it was the middle of summer. Her body on the other hand, holy shit, VERY generous chest that was wrapped up in what looked like bandages, she was wearing an open, long sleeved black and gold vest allowing him to drink in the site of her toned tan stomach, her right hand was covered in a black glove and he found that odd since the other was bare. Natsu's eyes followed the curve of her waist into the swell of her wide hips and long smooth legs that were covered in white clothed capris pants with black sandals covering her small feet.

Natsu felt his mouth run dry, "…w-wow…" he croaked out only to flush bright red and quickly turned his head when he heard Happy snickering beside him.

"Lucy…I was so w-worried about you!" he heard Plue wail and watched as he tackled his friend, "I-I was t-trying really hard to get t-to you b-b-but then they started s-shooting at me and I got s-scared so I flew b-back to town to try t-to find somebody who c-could help me and then I ran into N-Natsu and Happy and they helped me g-get the boat back to s-shore!" Plue explained still burying his face into her wrapped chest.

Lucy patted the white cat's head, "come on Plue, I told you I would be fine but thank you for helping me."

Lucy was about to say more when the sound of someone angrily screaming hit her ears, "how dare you!" the voice shouted and a man with purple hair and a tattoo above his right eye appeared from the rubble of the ship, he was quickly surrounded by several guys that Natsu noticed were on the ship before, he was glaring at Lucy, "HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted once again and summoned his magic launching a large stream of purple fire directly at Lucy.

Natsu's heart stopped as he watched, with wide eyes, everything happening in slow motion, Lucy turned her head to look directly at him and she smiled brightly then she grabbed Plue and threw him right at Natsu just before the flames hit her, "NO!" Natsu shouted after catching Plue, taking a couple steps forward only to be stopped by Plue quickly flying out of his arms to hover in front of him, "it's alright Natsu, just watch."

Natsu heart pounded and uneasiness settled in his chest but he waited for whatever he was supposed to be waiting for, "why are we waiting Plue…she took a direct hit from those flames! She needs our help!" Natsu shouted and made a move to get closer to the boat hands already reaching for Aquarius' key.

Plue turned to look directly into Natsu's eyes, "Natsu…calm down. Lucy is fine, just watch, please."

Natsu whimpered and gritted his teeth but complied anyways as much as he didn't want to, Happy landed on his shoulder and placed a reassuring paw on his cheek, he didn't like it any more than Natsu did.

Then they started to hear what sounded like slurping. Like someone was eating a plate of spaghetti and was sucking up a long noodle, they watched with wide eyes as the flames began to shrink and were pulled into one spot, "are you sure you're a fire wizard?" he heard Lucy's voice from the flames and within a matter of seconds what was once a raging inferno was now absolutely nothing. Lucy wiped her mouth with the back of her gloved hand, "those were some of the nastiest flames I've ever tasted…" she shivered in disgust but smirked at her enemies' pale faces and shaking bodies, "now…I don't take kindly to those who tarnish my guilds name so easily."

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU MONSTER?!" the purple haired flame wielder yelled out.

Lucy held her smirk and lifted her gloved hand placing it over her heart, Natsu watched, with growing fascination, as her hand suddenly burst into flames and incinerated the glove revealing smooth tanned skin and a pink mark, he's sworn he's seen before, for the world to see, "my name is Lucy and I'm a wizard from the Fairy Tail guild," she then pointed her flaming hand towards the other fire user and glared darkly at him, "and I've never seen you before…"

Natsu turned his head to look at the man and his lackeys seeing them all pale in complexion and shaking at the mention of who Lucy was, "…she's…she's from Fairy Tail?" Natsu whispered

"Boss…I know I've heard of this chick before…the blond hair, the scaled scarf, the pink symbol…she's the real deal, she's the real one Bora" one of the henchmen spoke pointing a finger at Lucy, "DON'T CALL ME THAT YOU FOOL! I DON'T CARE WHO SHE SAYS SHE IS, TAKE HER OUT!" the man dubbed Bora shouted and all the men that surrounded him charged for Lucy.

Natsu watched Lucy move with speeds even he wasn't capable of moving without the help of his Celestial armor, both of her fists were lite on fire as she punched her way through all of Bora's henchmen shouting _'FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!'_ as she bowled through them, "Plue…explain" he quietly asked the floating white cat while still watching Lucy.

Plue looked at Natsu and Happy and smiled scratching his head, "I probably should have mentioned that Lucy was a wizard, hee…sorry bout that," Natsu turned his head and gave him a look that clearly stated he wanted some answers.

Plue shrugged his shoulders, "it's simple really, Lucy and I are mages from the Fairy Tail guild." he turned his head back to Lucy and watched Bora launch himself in the air using his own fire with Lucy hot on his tail her own fire pushing from her feet so that she could get to Bora. They all watched them struggle in the air for a few seconds before Lucy caught him with a nasty punch to the face that sent him flying through several buildings, "We came to Hargeon because Lucy got a tip that her mom might be here. While we were here we caught word of salamander in town and Lucy automatically thought it was her mother and took off to where we heard it was supposed to be. However instead of finding her dragon, we found Bora surrounded by a bunch of love crazed females, it wasn't hard to see that Bora was using charm magic to manipulate the girls and when Lucy confronted him about it he said he had no idea what she was talking about and said that if she ever wanted to become a _'real'_ wizard someday that she should go to his yacht tonight like all the other girls and he would get her into the Fairy Tail guild. He kept saying he was salamander which didn't make since because Lucy is actually the salamander…" Plue crossed his arms over his chest watching Lucy take off in the direction Bora landed, "anyways after that is when she took off for the boat and you know everything from there." Plue smiled big but it quickly dropped into a frown when he seen Natsu and Happy's faces, "guys?" he questioned, "what's wrong?"

Natsu snapped out of it first, "HOW IS LUCY'S MOM A DRAGON?! AND IS SHE REALLY _THE_ SALAMANDER?!" he shouted plucking Plue out of the air to hold him close to his face.

Plue put his paws on Natsu's face and pushed himself away, "aye, Lucy's mom's a dragon and yes, she is the so called salamander."

"B-B-BUT…HOW?!" Natsu staggered backwards suddenly feeling light headed, "salamander is actually a girl…and not just any girl but Lucy…her mom's a dragon…she's from Fairy Tail…I don't feel so good…" Natsu whispered feeling his face flush and his stomach roll.

Before he had a chance to sit down and collect himself Lucy popped up and grabbed Plue and Happy while wrapping her small hand around his wrist, "WE GOTTA GO!" she shouted and then sprinted away. Natsu barely had enough time to get his feet underneath him so he didn't face plant while Lucy practically dragged him behind her, "WHA-…WAIT A MINUET!" he yelled trying to keep up with her speed, "HOLD ON A SECOND!"

Lucy looked back quickly and smiled brightly at him and Natsu felt his heart flutter in his chest again at the site, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you want to be arrested by the Rune Knights." she smirked at him when he paled at the thought then looked forward again.

She didn't stop until they were well out of the town and away from prying eyes into the safety and cover of the forest, "that was close!" she chuckled placing her hands behind her head and shifting her weight to one foot.

Natsu was heavily panting while sitting next to a tree, "how…a-are you not…winded?" he huffed while asking, he had closed his eyes and concentrated on getting his breathing under control.

Lucy crouched down to his level and scooted closer to him, she poked his cheek, "who are you?" she questioned

Natsu snapped his eyes open when he felt her prodding his face only for his eyes to widen at her close proximity, her scent was drifting all around him and he could feel her breath on his face as she studied him. Her eyes were mesmerizing and he was quickly lost within their golden, chocolate depths, "I-I-I'M…" he squeaked, he cleared his throat, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and pushed to give himself some breathing room, "my name is Natsu," he pointed to where Happy and Plue were sitting, "and he is Happy."

Lucy sat down in front of him with her legs crossed, "COOL! I'm Lucy and that's Plue, we're mages of Fairy Tail." she beamed him another brilliant smile

Natsu smiled back, "aye…Plue told us a little bit about you, is your mother really a dragon? and what kind of mage are you?" he questioned her and Lucy smiled even brighter if that was even possible, "AYE! Mama is a dragon, her name is Layla, queen of the fire dragons and I'm a fire dragon slayer! Mama taught me everything I know." she boasted jamming a thumb into her chest.

Natsu gawked at her for a second, "a dragon slayer! I've read about that magic is some books, it's said to be so rare that it's considered a lost magic now days!"

Lucy tilted her head to the side and gave him a confused look before shrugging her shoulders, "if you say so," she waved him off before scooting into his personal space again, "I've got questions for you now!"

Natsu leaned his head backwards away from Lucy but she just followed him," where ya from?" she quickly questioned

"wha-…" Natsu couldn't get his mouth to work, she was just too damn close

"what kind of magic to you use?" she didn't even wait for an answer to her previous question

"C-C-Celes- "he started but she interrupted again

"why is your hair pink?"

"h-hey now! It is _NOT_ pi- "he began to protest but the words died on his tongue when she ran her fingers through his hair. He hummed in pleasure and closed his eyes when she raked her nails against his scalp, "so soft…" he heard her whisper

"are you two in a guild?" she pulled her hand away when she asked and he almost _ALMOST_ whined at the loss of her fingers, "...no..." he opened his eyes back up and slightly moved away when he seen her excited face.

"if you're not in a guild then you're coming with us!" she shouted startling him

"wait a min- "

"and we can have Mira make you both members as soon as we get there!"

"hold on jus- "

"oooohhhh, I hope Erzie will let me keep you!"

"I-I BEG YOUR PARDON! I AM NOT A DOG!" Natsu shouted and glared at her but she ignored him

"I'll bring you both home with me and take care of you!" she had stars in her eyes now and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

"n-now see here! –"

"THAT IT! I've decided!" she shouted out and jumped to her feet

Natsus' cheeks were burning a bright red at this point

Lucy reached down and grabbed his hand hefting him to his feet, "wow, you're really tall…" she stated then quickly started walking away, Natsu dug the heels of his boots into the ground, "HOLD ON JUST A DAMN SECOND NOW!" he shouted finally gaining her attention. Lucy turned around and looked at him, "what?" she tilted her head to the side and he swore he could see the question mark forming above her head.

Natsu pulled his hand out of her grasp and pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand, "you can't just go making decisions for someone…"

Lucy again gave him a confused look and furrowed her brows, "I don't understand…"

Natsu sighed and shook his head, "it's not your decision to make about our lives…" he gestured to himself and Happy who was standing on the ground next to him looking up at Lucy, "it's our decision on what we want to do."

Lucy's lips formed a hard line and her brows pinched, "I don't _need_ you to tell me what you want and don't want, nor do I need you to tell me what you want to do with your lives. I can see it in your eyes…you want a family and a place to call home…it doesn't take a genius to see that you want both of those things and I'm offering to take you to a place where you will have both of those."

Natsu opened his mouth to deny her reasons but nothing was coming out, she was absolutely, 100% right…he did want a family and him and Happy were just talking about finding a place they could call home.

Why was he fighting back so much?

Lucy was offering him everything they've wanted…hell she could probably even make his dream come true and show him the rest of the world if he asked her.

So why was he hesitating?

Natsu looked down at Happy already knowing what he wanted and that was everything Lucy was offing them…he looked back up at Lucy and sighed loudly before smiling softly at her, "alright…take us to your Fairy Tail."

Lucy smiled back and held her hand out for him to take, "let's go then…"

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Wow…**_

 _ **Seriously you guys…just wow…**_

 _ **I really didn't think I would get this big of a turn out for this story!**_

 _ **So as promised, here is chapter two XD, I have to say I LOVE how Lucy's character turned out!**_

 _ **Anyways, let me know how I did :)**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu stood there with Happy sitting on his shoulders as they stared with wide eyes at the building in front of them, "it's…uh…it's bigger than I thought it was going to be" Natsu finally said and Happy covered his mouth to hide his laugh. Natsu rolled his eyes, "not a word…don't even say it…" he growled out and Happy lifted his paws surrendering but continued to giggle.

Lucy and Plue had them walking all night to get back to Fairy Tail as soon as possible, he seriously had no idea where she got all of her energy because he was exhausted. Though he had to admit, he was actually excited to get to see the place. She had done nothing but talk about Fairy Tail, from the build she's called home since she was little to the people she calls family and he will admit…his curiosity was peaked to an annoying level.

However, now that the building actually stood before them…he was nervous to walk through the doors, "you gonna stand there all day gaping like a fish or you coming in?" he heard Lucy ask

He looked down at where she was standing in front of the building, she had a brow raised at him, "I-I…yes…we're coming. Sorry, just nervous to go in I suppose." he scratched the back of his head and looked down at the ground for a second before looking back up at her. Plue had dropped to land on her head laying on his stomach.

Lucy gave him yet another muddled look -he's lost count how many times she's had that look since they met- and he really swears that he can see the question marks flying above her head, "why would you be nervous about a building?" she questioned, "you're really weird…"

Natsu choked on his spit, "T-T-T-THAT'S NOT...It's not the building I'm nervous about! And I am NOT weird!" his face was flushed with a very vibrant red. He could hear Happy snickering in his ear and Plue was giving him a smug look, these damn cats…they were ganging up on him.

Lucy chuckled and waved her hand back and forth in front of her face, "whatever ya say weirdo."

Natsu pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "…I'm not a weirdo…you're the weird one here…" he whispered still feeling the heat in his cheeks.

He was once again left gaping at Lucy when she laughed at him then promptly turned on her heels and kicked the massive wooden doors of the guild in, "WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs the moment the doors weren't blocking her path, "WE'RE HOME!" Plue shouted right after her and then flew away from her.

Natsu cautiously followed behind her listening to the cheers and welcomes that sounded within the building, "…wow…" he breathed. The inside had a very cozy and warm feel to it despite boisterous shouts he heard, if anything the loud noise actually gave it a homelier feel and Natsu quickly decided that he liked it.

He was stunned once again when he watched Lucy run at another guild member and then punched him sending the guy flying onto another table filled with other guild members, "YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT THAT SALAMANDER YOU BASTARD! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS" she shouted, "HEY DON'T GET MAD AT ME! I WAS JUST PASSING ALONG A RUMOR I HEARD!" the guy yelled back once he righted himself, "YOU MEAN YOU HAD ME GO ALL THE WAY TO HARGEON FOR A RUMOR!" she hissed back, "YOU WANNA FIGHT?! LET'S GO!" the guy then jumped and tackled Lucy smashing her onto another table filled with members.

Before Natsu even had a chance to blink a full out brawl between all the guild member broke out, bodies were flying in all directions followed closely by the shattered debris of various objects caught in their way.

"This place is crazy Natsu…" Happy whispered in his ear and he wrapped his tail around his neck to make sure he didn't accidently fall and find himself tangled up in the mess. Natsu grinned, "aye…but I am liking it even more now…" it almost felt like he was back home training with Atlas again, their spars sometimes ended up just like this but with just the two of them laughing and having a good time. Those were some of the things he did miss about being back at the mansion…speaking of, he was going to have to call his uncle to update him later.

"So coal for brains finally made it back!" Natsu heard a male voice shout out and was surprised to find a man with black hair slowly making his way to where Lucy was busy griping another member in a headlock, "…uh…" Natsu's brain went somewhat numb because the guy was literally only wearing his underwear, "GRAY! YOUR CLOTHES!" a woman sitting at the bar shouted, he also found Plue sitting on the counter munching on a fish seemingly without a care in the world, "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" the guy dubbed Gray shouted back and then tackled Lucy, "WHA'D YOU CALL ME ICICLE!" he heard Lucy shout while underneath Gray, she then moved her foot and shoved it hard into Gray's stomach kicking him off her and into the mass of tangled bodies only for her to jump back to her feet then joined the jumbled mess of bodies too.

Natsu's body hummed with excitement and he was having a hard time holding himself back from joining the fray, "it's only noon any you guys are already fighting!" a very large man with white hair said as he walked past Natsu, "I'M THE ONLY REAL MAN HERE! WANT ME TO PROVE IT TO YA!" he shouted out while flexing his muscles. Natsu jumped out of the way and held back the laughter that bubbled up in his chest when he watched Lucy and Gray punch the giant guy at the same time launching him across the guild hall, "SHUT UP!" they shouted in unison and then glared at each other, "QUIT COPYING ME!" they yelled simultaneously again and then tackled each other rolling back into the brawl.

"Well hello there," he heard a sweet voice call out, "are you two new here?" Natsu and Happy turned their heads to the voice and were met with a very beautiful woman with long white hair and the most intense blue eyes he's ever seen, "I-uh…" Natsu cleared his throat to keep it from cracking again, "yes, I suppose we are." he was finally able to get out and the beauty before him giggled causing him to smile back, he pointing a finger to the knot of bodies, "is it always like this?" she looked to the brawl, "aye, it's always like this around here. Unless you want to get pulled into it, I'd just leave them alone. Besides- "she was about to say more but was suddenly flattened by the burly white haired man when he was thrown on top of her. She smiled up at Natsu from underneath the man, "it's kinda fun don't you think?" she fainted right afterwards, Natsu panicked and moved to help her but before he could even take a step a body slammed into his back knocking him slightly off balance.

Natsu turned around to figure out just what the hell had happened only to find Gray yelling at Lucy to give him his underwear back while she smirked at him and twirled the boxers around her finger. For some reason it was then that Natsu's brain seem to catch up and realize that the man was standing next to him…in his fucking birthday suit! Natsu reached up and covered Happy's eyes, "uh…" he dumbly stated and slowly backed away from Gray.

Gray seemed to notice Natsu's movement and walked right up to him, "hey man, can I borrow your clothes?" he questioned and Natsu paled slightly, "dude…no…just no. I don't swing that way, sorry bro." Natsu said backing away even more while he still covered Happy's eyes.

Gray flushed a bright red, "WHAT THE HELL?! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEN- "he was cut off when Lucy jumped on him, "finally give up snowman!? Couldn't handle me kicking your ass anymore did ya?!"

Natsu watched the two quickly move away from them and he let out a breath, "this place is insane"

"Aye…" Happy agreed pulling Natsu's hand from his eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while." the white haired beauty appeared next to Natsu and Happy without a scratch on her. She then held out her hand to Natsu and smiled, "I'm Mirajane by the way but you can call me Mira. I run the bar and kitchen here." Natsu smiled back then shook her hand, "names Natsu and this is Happy." Mira nodded her head at them then looked back at the brawl, "so, who brought you in?" she questioned.

Natsu winced when a member went flying in between him and Mira and slammed into the wall behind them, his cheek was steaming and Natsu looked in the direction he came flying from and seen Lucy standing there with a grin on her face and her hands ablaze. Natsu pointed at her before she turned around to punch someone else, "actually Lucy did," he brought his hand back and scratched the back of his head, "she pretty much dragged us here." he let out a chuckle, "aye, she did. Well her and Plue did." Happy chirped from the safety of Natsu's shoulder still.

Mira smiled at them, "ooohh reeeeeally?" she purred and Natsu wasn't sure but the way she said that made an ominous chill shoot down his spine and he thickly swallowed taking a couple steps away from the woman, "a-aye?" he squeaked out, not sure why he was suddenly feeling very uneasy around her, Happy tugged on the hood of his cloak silently telling him to back up farther but Mira said no more.

Natsu and Happy about jumped out of their skin when a voice boom all around the guild hall and a massive black giant suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "WILL YOU FOOLS STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN!"

Natsu was actually shaking in his boots and sweating until Mira spoke up, "why hello master, I didn't know you were still here."

"WAIT! HE'S THE MASTER?!" Natsu shouted while pointing that the gigantic body only to let out a very manly squeak when it looked in his and Happy's direction, "OH, SEEMS WE HAVE SOME NEW RECRUITS!"

"A-A-A-Aye sir!" Natsu and Happy stuttered holding on to each other

They were stunned to complete silence when the giant started shrinking and it didn't stop until only a tiny old man was standing before them, he quite possibly only came up to Natsu's knees. The old man looked up at the two and smiled while holding a hand up, "nice ta meetcha!"

"Natsu, Happy, allow me to introduce Fairy Tail's master, Makarov" Mira stated holding a hand out to present the small man, "…holy shit he's tiny…" Natsu whispered to Happy and he nodded in agreement.

Makarov then turned and jumped away from the gawking two to land on the rails of the second level of the build that Natsu only now noticed was even there. Makarov cleared his throat to gain the attention of everyone in the hall before holding a hand out that was filled with papers, "YOU BRATS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN! JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE PAPERWORK THE MAGIC COUNCIL HAS SENT ME THIS TIME! THIS IS THE BIGGEST PILE OF COMPLAINTS YET!" Makarov then lowered his head and clenched his fist, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS! ALL YOU KIDS ARE GOOD FOR IS GETTING THE HIGHER UPS MAD AT ME!"

Makarov growled slightly before sighing and looking around at all the members within his building, their guilt ridden faces were almost enough to make him want to chuckle, "…however…" he started then quickly set the paperwork in his hand on fire and dropped it down below where Lucy was waiting watching her grab the flames and began chewing on them, "I say to hell with the magic council!"

Natsu and Happy looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the master, "NOW LISTEN UP! Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, correct? Magic isn't some kind of marvelous power, it is a solid talent that only works when the flow of energy within us and the flow of energy around us are in perfect unison." he paused taking in all of his children's thoughtful faces, "to perform magic one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus, it should take over your entire being and come pouring out of your soul! If all we do is worry about following rules and regulations than our magic's will never progress! Don't let those dolts on the council scare you! Follow the path you believe in! ENCOURAGE NOT DISCOURAGE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE FAIRY TAIL GUILD NUMBER ONE!" he then held his index finger and thumb out pointing them to the sky and everyone cheered and shouted throwing the same symbol into the air and it was then and there that Natsu decided he loved this guild and he and Happy were here to stay.

After the members involved with the brawl helped clean up the disaster they left in their wake Natsu and Happy had received their guild marks. Natsu chose to place his on his on his right shoulder in a blood red color that reminded him of his Uncle Atlas and Happy had his placed on his back in a green color, "COOL NATSU! We're official members now!" Happy shouted out while jumping up and down on the counter of the bar, "welcome to the guild you two" Mira gave them a kind smile before she went back to work serving drinks.

Natsu turned in his seat at the bar and looked around the guild again, "this place is amazing huh Happy…"

"AYE SIR!" Happy shouted out

"whadda say we pick a new job Lu?"

"SURE! Let's look at the board and see what we can find!"

Natsu suddenly heard Lucy and Plue's voices and found them standing before a huge wooden board that had a bunch of papers pinned to it, "hey Mira? What's that are those papers on that board that Lucy is standing in front of?" Natsu questioned when Mira walked past him, "hum? OH! That's the request board, since you're a member now you can officially take jobs that are posted for the guild. That's how our members make money." Natsu nodded his head then looked back at Lucy and Plue.

He still wasn't sure why but he felt drawn to her for some reason…

"How come my dad isn't back yet?

"We've been over this Romeo, just be patient."

"Bu-but sir…he told he would be back in three days…he's been gone for over a week now!"

Natsu and Happy both turned their heads to the other side of the bar where Makarov was sitting with a little boy talking to him, "if I remember correctly he took the job on Mount Hakobe- "

"THAT'S RIGHT AND IT'S NOT FAR FROM HERE SO WHY WON'T SOMEBODY GO LOOK FOR HIM?!" the little boy shouted interrupting the master.

"Romeo…your father is a very capable mage and like every member in this guild he can take care of himself. Have faith in your father and wait for him."

The little boys' fists shook and he had tears running down his face, Natsu was surprised when the boy punched the master and then ran out of the guild. It wasn't long after Romeo ran out of the guild that Natsu seen Lucy storm out of the guild with Plue silently flying behind her, "I know it might seem that the master doesn't care- "Natsu turned back to look at Mira standing behind the bar, "-but he really is worried and if I know Lucy…she's on her way to Hakobe right now to bring Macao home."

Natsu nodded his head at her and with a determined face he left the guild with Happy close by following Lucy and Plue.

* * *

"So why did you guys decide to tag along?"

The four member were currently sitting in a wagon that was taking them to Mt. Hakobe, Natsu and Happy were sitting in one seat with Lucy and Plue across from them. Natsu kept his cloak on but place his large backpack beside him to give his shoulders a break, "we figured we would give you guys a hand." he plainly said while looking at Lucy with worry. She was laying on her side with her back facing him and an arm tucked underneath her head, her long ponytail was laying over the seat with the ends bent along the floor of the wagon. She was shivering, whimpering and very pale, it was tugging at his heart, "is she going to be alright?" he quietly asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the itching of his fingers that wanted to rub along her spine to comfort her and run through her long hair.

Plue looked at his partner from his spot sitting on her hip, "aye…she'll be fine. This is what I was telling you about before when it comes to transportation and Lucy. If her big sister was here she would be more calm in her sleep." Natsu nodded his head remaining silent and not pry while he stared at Lucy, "so-uh…what was Macao's job?" Happy suddenly asked

Plue turned his head to look at the other feline, "he was supposed to slay some Vulcans that have been terrorizing the local town."

"Vulcans huh…I've read about those things. Large monkey creatures that have the ability to take-over another persons' body" Natsu stated

"Aye."

Suddenly the wagon stopped, "I do apologize, but this is as far as I can take you." they heard the muffled voice of the driver, "ALRIGHT, THANK YOU!" Natsu spoke up, he moved and knelt down on one knee behind Lucy and placed a hand on her shoulders, "Lucy? Hey we've stopped moving." he gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.

Lucy groaned before slowly waking up and sat up, "we're here?" she asked and Natsu nodded his head, "oh thank Mavis…" she breathed, "I'm never riding on one of these ever again." she pouted before quickly standing up and running out of the wagon. Plue sighed and shook his head, "she says that every time…" Natsu and Happy chuckled and followed the white and orange cat out of the wagon while Natsu place his pack on his shoulders again.

However, the moment the stepped outside they were met with a fierce blizzard, "HOLY SHIT!" Natsu shouted and wrapped his cloak tighter around himself. Lucy was already quickly walking away from them and Natsu had to run to catch up to her, Plue landed on her shoulder while Happy flew into Natsu's arms and wrapped the cloak around himself.

"How are you not bothered by this?" Natsu asked once he was walking right next to the dragon slayer.

Lucy lifted a brow and gave him a look that was clearly wondering if he was stupid or not, "uh…fire dragon remember?" Lucy asked and then used magic to heat the air around herself, "cold doesn't affect me." Natsu sighed happily when her heat warmed him and it caused him to walk a little closer, she just chuckled at him before looking forward again.

They had been walking for some time with Lucy and Plue calling out for Macao every now and then but haven't found anything. The cold didn't bother Natsu as much as it did thanks to Lucy's magic but he knew she couldn't keep it up forever, "man…if only we had something of Macaos that had his scent on it I could summon Lupus to track him." he pouted

Lucy turned her head and grinned at him, "no need for that," she beamed and then tapped her nose, "I've been tracking him."

Natsu's brows pinched, "huh?"

Lucy giggled at him, "how much -exactly- do you know about slayers?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "only what I've read in books and it's not much since your magic is so rare."

Lucy nodded her head, "well dragon slayers magic gives them characteristics of a dragon allowing them to be able to use their magic," Lucy pointed to her chest, "my lungs changed to those of a dragons allowing me to produce and breath fire," she showed him by blowing out a small flame. She then raised her arm and Natsu watched with wide eyes when her arm formed red scales, "I have dragon scales that give me extra protection, it's like armor in a way and no fire can ever hurt me."

"So that's why you told me not to worry about Lucy when Bora shot those flames at her…" Natsu spoke watching Plue nod.

Lucy nodded her head as well, "aye, that's not all though," Lucy brought her hand up and Natsu watched her nails grow longer and sharper and then they were covered in flames, "I can sharpen my nails to produce claws that I can fight with. Honestly every part of my body has changed or can change in some way to allow me to use my dragons' fire." Lucy backed away from him and Plue flew off her shoulders to hover next to Natsu knowing just what she was about to do. Natsu jumped when she lit her entire body on fire, "every part of my body can catch fire giving me an advantage over whatever I am facing." she killed the flames and then walked back to Natsu, Happy and Plue, "the final thing that changed is the most important out of them all, my mind."

Natsu lifted a brow, "I don't understand, what do you mean."

Lucy waved a hand at him, "I was getting to that…anyways, my mind changed forcing me to rely on my instincts over anything else. However, because of that I know I can be somewhat…slow…when it comes to comprehending some situations if I can comprehend them at all." Natsu hummed finally knowing why she was so brash and oblivious while listening to her continue, "in addition to forcing me to hone in on my instincts I rely more on my site, scent, taste, and hearing. I have dragon eyes, ears, nose and mouth allowing me to see farther and clearer, I can hear more, my nose is 100x stronger than any animal meaning I can pick out scents- "she held her arms out wide, "-even in a blizzard like this. My mouth -however- can actually taste certain smells and I can even tell if something is toxic or poisoned, it also allows me to bite into fire and eat it." Lucy opened her mouth and it was then that Natsu finally seen her teeth, her upper and lower canines had sharpened and elongated to give her fangs. Natsu ran his tongue over his own teeth, "wow…I knew that some magics could change a person but I didn't know it could to this magnitude." he said in awe.

Lucy smiled, "aye. To be honest, it's annoying sometimes but I've gotten- "she paused suddenly and furrowed her brows

"Lucy?" before Natsu had a chance to say more Lucy quickly looked up then pushed Natsu backwards while she jumped back just in time for a Vulcan to land right where they were standing, "the hell?!" Natsu shouted, he released Happy and reached for his keys resting along his ribs preparing himself for a fight.

The Vulcan looked back and forth between Lucy and Natsu and growled before surprising them both by running over to Lucy throwing her over its shoulders then jumped up the side of the large mountain they were walking next too, "LUCY!" Natsu, Happy and Plue shouted. Happy and Plue quickly grabbed hold of Natsu and flew upwards to catch up to the monkey.

Towards the middle of the mountain was an opening to a cave where they could hear Lucy shouting, "THERE!" Natsu pointed and the felines flew over placing Natsu back on his feet.

As soon as he landed though he had to quickly act and reached for a key pointing it in front of himself and turned it to the right, "TAURUS!" with a flash of light a large bull like creature appeared just in time to swing the ax he was holding and launched the Vulcan that was flying at them away and smashed it against the ice wall on the other side of the cave, "MOOO! That was a close one boss!" Taurus mooed. Natsu breathed out a sigh, "whew, thank you Taurus." he raised a hand and high-fived the bull then looked at Lucy.

He swallowed and backed up slightly, her entire body was in flames and her hands were balled into fists so tight that they were shaking with pent up wrath, "L-Lucy?" Natsu stuttered taking a couple steps towards her. Lucy turned her head quickly and pointed her glare on Natsu and it was then that he seen the angry tears running down her face only to quickly evaporate from the flames she was producing, "what's wrong Luce? What happened?" he gently asked walking closer to the pissed off female.

Lucy pointed a finger at the Vulcan that was slowly picking itself up off the floor, "that stupid monkey!" she shouted, Natsu, the felines and the large bull all flinched at her tone, "what happened Lu?" Plue asked next, he and Happy were hovering beside Natsu with Taurus directly behind him.

Lucy brought her arm up and angrily wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her coat, "that bastard was going on and on about how I was _his_ woman -whatever that means- "Natsu flinched then furrowed his brows and ground his teeth together, "-and then when we finally made it to the cave before I had a chance to do anything that _THING_ GRABBED MY BUTT! So I lit myself on fire and punched his stupid face in…"

Natsu went numb and balled his fists, he wasn't sure why he was so mad but he was and he would make sure that monkey paid for even daring to touch her in such an intimate way. Natsu lowered his head allowing his bangs to cover his eyes, "…Taurus…" he simply said and the bull nodded, "got it boss" the bull growled and then moved to stand next to Lucy.

Lucy killed her fire and then jumped up to crouch on the bulls' shoulders, Taurus raised his ax to her and Lucy, understanding what he wanted, released a breath attack on the blades. Natsu held Taurus' key out and poured more of his magic into it causing the bull to start glowing, Taurus then pushed all the extra magic into his ax and they watched the fire and golden light swirl around the weapon.

Lucy grabbed onto one of Taurus' horns and watched as bull brought the ax backwards. The Vulcan had finally righted its self and pounded on its chest letting out an angry roar then charged for the bull and slayer. Taurus said nothing, only waiting until the monkey was within range and then quickly swung his ax and blasted the swirling magics right at the Vulcan.

It let out a loud pained wail as soon as it was hit and the small group watched as it crashed into the wall again covered in cuts and burns completely knocked out.

Plue stayed back and watched with wide eyes when Natsu and Happy ran up to Lucy high-fiving her and the bull excitedly talking about how cool that was, they didn't even realize what they had just done. Plue shook his head from his stupor and decided that he would keep it to himself until he had a chance to talk to the master about it and quickly made his way to them.

As it turned out, the defeated Vulcan was actually Macao whose body had been taken over by the beast. After they had quickly bandaged him with the first-aid kit Natsu had and apologized profusely for beating him up, the group slowly made their way back to Magnolia where a very happy Romeo was waiting.

* * *

"That was a really nice thing you did today Lucy" Natsu praised while the four walked along the canal of their town, "Macao would have done the same for me if I was in his situation." she said while she walked along the wall bordering the water, "that's how Fairy Tail is. Sure it's a place where members can find work and make money but it's also way more than that. We're a family and family looks out for each other." Natsu took all of her words in and couldn't help the warm feeling in his chest, the only people that ever treated him like Fairy Tail does was his uncle and his mother and he didn't want it to ever stop.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company until Lucy jumped off the wall and landed in front of Natsu. She craned her neck back and looked up at him, "do you have a place to stay yet?"

Natsu shook his head, "no. Happy and I were just going to get a hotel room for the night until we can make some more money and find a place to live." he shrugged his shoulders.

Lucy nodded her head then placed her hands on her hips, "no need for that," she smiled

Natsu looked down at her and wrinkled his brows, "huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "I said before that you guys were coming home with me and that I would take care of you. What? Did you think I was joking before?" she raised a challenging brow at him and smirked when his eyes grew wide and he stuttered, "I-I…u-u-uh…yo-you…b-b-b-b-but…d-do you think t-that's really a good idea?" he finally got out feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. Happy and Plue both snickered at him behind their paws and he had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing out at them.

Lucy's head dropped to the side and he was starting to think that that position was just natural now, "why wouldn't it be?" she questioned

Natsu groaned then ran a hand down his face, "because you're a woman and I am a man and we are not in a relationship."

Lucy's face was completely blank and Natsu knew she had no idea what he was talking about, "of course we are in a relationship, you're my best friend, aren't you?" yup she had no clue but he was happy none the less, "yes, we are best friends but that's not that kind of relationship i'm talking about...either way, I still don't think it's a good id~ _EEEE_ \- "Lucy grabbed his hand before he had a chance to finish his sentence and pulled him behind her, "oh shut up." she simply said and continued walking in the direction -Natsu guessed- was her home. He internally sighed and decided to just accept his fate, it wasn't like she was going to let him go anytime soon anyways.

Not that he really minded, though he'd never say that out loud...

Lucy finally stopped pulling him once they stood in front of a nice little cottage that was tucked away in the woods next to the town. She turned and looked at him and smiled big enough so flash her fangs at him and held her arms out wide presenting the house to him, "HOME SWEET HOME!" she then turned opened the front door walking in and he followed behind her.

It was actually nice

He wasn't sure what he was expecting it to look like but he figured with her scattered brain she would live in scatter as well but that wasn't the case. Her home was very clean and everything, he noticed, had its own particular spot. Her home wasn't very big at all but it was more than enough for her and Plue, as soon as you walked in the front door you find yourself in a large open space that had the kitchen and living room in it. She had a nice red couch with a wooden table standing in front of it and a small fire place that was tucked away in the far corner of the room. Hanging on the wall in the other corner across from the fireplace was two hammocks, one small and one large and then along the right wall was an opening to a small hallway where he found a bedroom with a large bed and a dresser on one side and a small bathroom with a stone bathtub, sink and toilet on the other side, "it's not much but we like it and it's quiet out here." Lucy came up behind him while he was inspecting the large tub.

He turned and looked at her and smiled, "it's a very nice home. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect, I figured the place to be chaotic and dirty but it's surprisingly clean."

He watched her cheeks turn a faint pink, "u-uh…yea, hee, it actually used to be a mess since me and Plue were never really home. Erzie ended up coming out and cleaned it up for us while we were on a mission and then threatened to beat us to a pulp if we ever allowed it to get that bad again when we came back home." she shrugged her shoulders after that

Natsu gave her a confused look, "Erzie? I meant to ask but just who is this Erzie?"

Lucy giggled and walked into the living room and sat on the couch next to a sleeping Plue and Happy, "she's my big sister. She's away on a mission right now but she should be back in a couple days. Her name isn't really Erzie though, that's just what I've called her since I joined the guild. Her actual name is Erza, Erza Scarlet."

Natsu nodded and stood in front of her table, "we've heard her name once or twice on our travels and I read about her. She's also known as Titania, correct?"

Lucy nodded, "Aye."

Natsu smiled then stretched and yawned, "come. You and Happy can take the bed, me and Plue will sleep in our hammocks tonight." Lucy stood, gently picking up Happy then grabbed Natsu's hand to lead him to the bedroom, "oh no, we couldn't do that. You are already providing a temporary home for us, we couldn't possibly take your bed as well!" Natsu stressed but Lucy wasn't having it, "Erzie always told me that if I ever had guests stay over then the correct thing to do would be to give my bed to them and make them feel at home. I'm not going to get into trouble with Erzie so you get the bed and that's final." she pinned him with a small glare that was daring him to go against her words.

Natsu lowered his head and sighed, "very well. I don't want you to get into trouble…"

Lucy smiled then led him the rest of the way into the room, she carefully placed Happy on the bed and wrapped the blanket around him giving him a tender rub on his head. She stood back up and walked back to the door, "you are welcome to anything so make yourselves at home ok?"

Natsu nodded at her and sat down on the bed, "goodnight Natsu." she quietly said, "goodnight Luce, thank you."

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Chapter 3 y'all!**_

 _ **Seriously, I still can't believe how much you guys like this story.**_

 _ **It's kinda amazing to be honest, I still can't get over how much y'all have liked my stories.**_

 _ **Anyways…**_

 _ **-HOW BOUT THAT NEW COVER PICTURE!-**_

 _ **I would like to thank my amazing wife, Seriphia,**_ *aka Lick* _**for drawing it up!**_

 _ **(**_ _read her stories btw they're fantastic! XD_ **)**

 _ **I LOVE YOU LICK!**_

 _ **As usual, let me know how I did.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	4. Chapter 4

"uuuuhhhh…" Natsu groaned, he turned over on his stomach and put the pillow he was laying on over his head, "Happy…answer the lacrima…" Happy continued to snore and the damn thing kept ringing, "…what the hell does that old man want now?" Natsu scooted to the edge of the bed and peaked an eye open, using his left hand he reached down and unzipped his bag grabbing hold of the loud, offending item. He brought it up to his face instantly turning his head away and hissed, squinting his eyes and turning back to the harsh light that blinded him for a moment he looked at the still face on the crystal and sure enough there was his uncle. Sighing Natsu let a small bit of magic flow into the crystal and answered the call, he knew if he didn't Atlas would just keep calling, "…yo…" he greeted in a groggy voice.

 _"NATSU!"_

Natsu pulled the crystal away when Atlas shouted at him, "Damn old man, what was that for?" he switched the crystal into his other hand and shoved a pinky into his ear to get rid of the ringing, _"THE HELL YOU MEAN WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! It's been over two weeks since you last contacted me and I've been worried sick, ungrateful brat!"_

Natsu sighed then rolled over on his back and held the lacrima above his face with one hand and place the other behind his head, "sorry uncle, I meant to call you last night but we got in late and I passed out before I had a chance to."

He heard Atlas sigh, _"alright alright…I forgive ya. Tell me, what have you been up to these last couple weeks then?"_

Natsu smiled at his uncle, "a lot actually and you're gonna be happy." Natsu proceeded to tell Atlas about their trip to Hargeon, Plue finding them, saving Lucy and then running from the Rune Knights which made Atlas crack up. Then Natsu told him about Fairy Tail and how he and Happy joined the guild then he told him about going up to Mount Hakobe with Lucy and Plue and saving Macao and bringing him back home. Natsu didn't even realize it but it was Lucy who he mainly talked about and he didn't even see Atlas smirk the longer he talked, "then she basically dragged us to her house and said we were staying with her until we could go on a few jobs to make some more jewel and get our own place and that's where we are at now." Natsu ended his tale and finally looked at Atlas only to cringe at the face he was making, "…what?"

Atlas chuckled, _"oh nothing, but I'm pretty sure I can tell you exactly what this Lucy girl looks and acts like with the amount you've talked about her."_ Atlas wiggled his eyebrows at his nephew and Natsu quickly sat up to deny what he just said but the more the thought about it his uncle was right, all he did was talk about Lucy. After a second of processing it, Natsu's face exploded with a bright red color, "I-I-I…uh…sh-shit…" Natsu stuttered before giving up and closing his eyes so he didn't have to look at his uncles' smug face. Atlas' laughter rang all throughout the room and despite it being directed towards Natsu, he smiled, he's missed his uncle, _"oh…my little Natsu is growing up! I'm so proud!"_ Natsu watched as Atlas fluttered his eyelashes and pretended to wipe a tear away and Natsu growled, "OI! Shut up, ya geezer!" Atlas wave the insult away and gave Natsu a gentle smile, _"seriously though Natsu, I am proud of you. I'm glad you finally joined a guild, puts my heart at ease knowing you're not still running around low on money with no place to go."_

Natsu smiled then chuckled and ran his free hand through his rosy hair, "aye…Happy was bugging me about it for months. It honestly was lucky that we ran into Lucy and Plue when we did, going to Hargeon was probably the best decision we've made. We've found a place to call home and a pretty awesome family too. I do miss you though uncle…"

 _"I miss you too Natsu, the mansion is definitely colder since you left but I'm glad that you've finally found a family again. Might just have to come and visit ya when I can get away."_ Atlas chuckled but you could see the sadness in his eyes, he really did miss Natsu and he missed his uncle just as much.

Atlas cleared his throat _, "Well then! It's about time you get your butt up and train for the day don't ya think?"_ Natsu choked on his spit and looked at his uncle with wide eyes, "you CANNOT be serious?!"

Atlas gave him a wicked smirk _, "have I ever joked when it's come to your training?"_

"YE-uh…damn…no…no you haven't"

 _"Exactly, get your lazy ass up and get to training. You need to continue getting stronger now that you're in a guild, you've got family to protect again."_

Natsu sighed and shook his head, it seems he's been accepting his fate a lot lately, "alright alright, you win."

 _"Damn right I win!"_ Atlas boosted, _"and you better be getting up, I'll keep calling you if I have to to make sure you're training!"_ he glared hard at Natsu making sure he knew that he would continue to call and make sure he was doing what he was told, "Yea yea alright, geez. I getting up old man, see?" Natsu kicked the blankets off and swung his legs over the bed, stretching his arms high in the air letting out a grunt, _"alright brat, I've got to go. You call me next week so we can catch up, you hear me?"_ Natsu waved a hand in front of his face, "I promise uncle, I'll call ya in a week. Love you!"

 _"Love you too kid…"_

Natsu watched the crystal lose the magic he put into it and blacken out, he was actually really sad to see his uncle go but understood that he didn't want to risk Igneel finding out that they have been talking since he left a year ago.

Doesn't make it hurt any less though…

He misses his uncle dearly but still doesn't regret leaving

Natsu sighed again and slowly stood up making sure not to jostle the bed too much and wake Happy up, "better do what the old man said and train. Have to keep getting stronger now." Natsu smiled at that thought then reached down and picked up his bag. He opened it wider and pulled out his folded clothes till he found his sweat pants, he put the rest of his clothes and lacrima back into the pack and zipped it up setting it back on the floor. He then pulled his sweats on and grabbed his halter before he walked to the door opening and closing it quietly as he went, he wasn't going to bother with his shoes since he will be on the grass outside. He visited the bathroom first to relieve himself and wash his hands and face then walked out into the living room.

He stood in the center of the room and looked at the hammocks resting in the corner, he could hear Plue snoring away without a care in the world in his and then he looked to Lucy. Her scarf was resting directly above her head and she was laying on her stomach with red blanket covering her entire body with only a small amount of her head showing, though she had an arm and a leg hanging over the side of the swinging bed. Natsu would have laughed at her position if it wasn't for the fact that Lucy's leg was completely bare, and it was then that Natsu had seen the small pile of clothes and her sandals on the floor.

…oh gods…

Natsu reached up and grabbed hold of the gold key pendant resting on his chest to try and ground himself to reality while he turned his head away gritting his teeth and balled his fists to resist the urge to walk over and slowly run his large hand up her long, smooth looking leg. Natsu took a deep breath in through his nose and let it back out of his mouth in an attempt to cool himself off, no need to be thinking that way about his new best friend anyways…

"…Erzie always told me staring is rude…"

Natsu about had a damn heart attack and jumped a good five feet in the air, _'DAMN IT! She caught me…shit…what do I do now?!'_ he screamed inside his mind slightly panicking, _'gods above I don't want her to be mad at me and think I'm a pervert…'_ he was so busy ranting inside of his head that he didn't see Lucy slowly sit back on her knees with her blanket still resting over her shoulders and blink sleepily at him. She yawned loudly and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "what'er you doing up this early anyways?" she questioned, sleep still heavy in her voice.

Natsu finally snapped his eyes to hers and they grew wide, "I-I'm sorry!" he quietly shouted out making sure not to wake Plue or Happy, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to stare, I promise…"

Lucy's mind was still having a hard time processing anything at the moment so she just waved him off, "eh…whatever…anyways, what you doin' up this early? Figured I'd be the only one up at this time," she turned her head to look out the window seeing the first rays of sun peaking over the horizon and turned to look back at the stunned male standing in her living room, "you wake up this early every day?" he suddenly questioned her and Lucy nodded moving carefully to sit down on her wobbly bed, "…why?" he questioned while raising a brow at her.

Lucy yawned again and Natsu's eyes -weirdly- went straight to her fangs, "training time, I wake up before everyone and work on my body and magic before breakfast."

"…oh…" was all Natsu was able to say and he looked back into her eyes.

Lucy raised a brow at his odd behavior, "and you?" she questioned again, "actually…same. Was going to train some before everyone woke up." he finally answered awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

That seemed to snap the rest of the sleep out of Lucy and she perked right up, "wanna spar?! Best way to train is with someone else!" she quickly said and beamed at him

Natsu smiled back, having not expected that at all, "sure! I'll spar with you." Natsu was relieved actually because not only was Lucy not mad at him but her training with him will help him get his mind off missing his uncle, "awesome!" Lucy quietly shouted then jumped out of her hammock, the moment her feet hit the floor her blanket fell off her shoulders and pooled onto the floor below her.

Natsu's mouth ran dry…then flooded…and his eyes popped out of his skull…

Her hair was down and he found out that it fell to her hips but that wasn't what had the blood rushing a little too far south -though it did help-…she was _literally_ only wearing a pair of very small, cloth, black bikini panties and the bandages that she tightly wrapped around her _unbelievably_ large chest…and that was _it_.

He made a quiet noise, at least he's almost positive he did, what kind of noise? He wasn't even sure but it was definitely high pitched and sounded somewhere between a choking moan and a pained cry…yea he had no idea…although Lucy didn't seem to hear it so that's all that mattered at the moment, he definitely wasn't thinking about his uncle anymore…

Then he got to watch her stretch…

Natsu _tried_ …he will swear to all the gods above and magic in the world that he **_tried_** to pull his eyes away from -what he considered- an erotic site…but he _couldn't_ …

The way her body arched when she leaned backwards…

The way her leg muscles tightened when she stood on her tippy toes…

The way her abs contracted when she let out a breath…

The way her long, golden, silky hair spilled over her shoulders and covered her chest when she bent forwards…

She turned around and slowly bent at her hips to pick her blanket and pants up off the floor and Natsu knew he was drooling now…her ass was **_phenomenal_** …he was convinced that one wrong move and that flimsy piece of cloth that covered his little piece of ecstasy would burst with how large and round and _tight_ it was…he almost wanted to walk over and help the material burst…all he desperately wanted to do at that moment was run his fingers over the curve of her ass to grip her hips tight enough to leave his hand prints and-

Natsu forced his eyes close and violently shook his head…

 _Nope…_

 _Not ok…_

 _Stop it Natsu…_

 _She's your best friend…_

 _Nothing more, nothing less…_

Natsu quickly turned around so his back was facing her now and reached down to…adjust…himself before she could notice, "I'll-uh…I'll meet you outside, alright?" he didn't wait for her answer and practically ran out the front door.

He slumped himself against a tree, bumping his head against it a couple times and closed his eyes, _'…holy hell…why does she have to look like that! Did she even realize she was almost naked in front of me?!'_

Natsu sighed, _'No…probably not and knowing how she is she probably didn't care what I seen…or at least wouldn't understand why it wasn't alright for me to see her like that…'_

Natsu groaned very loudly and scrubbed his face with both of his hands in an attempt at washing away the image of her bent over out of his mind, _'no thinking like that anymore Natsu…just stop…focus on training…you need to get stronger and Luce is willing to help you. Be grateful for what you have.'_

Natsu heard her lite footsteps approaching and he steeled himself one last time, _'training, that's all you are to think about. Get stronger, that's it!'_

* * *

Natsu stumbled into the guild behind Lucy and limped his way to the bar, he plopped himself heavily down on one of the stools then slammed his forehead onto the counter, "oh my, what happened to you Natsu?" Mira questioned the moment she walked up to him.

Natsu made a pathetic whine in the back of his throat but said nothing, "don't worry about him," Mira looked to the two cats sitting on the bar next to the pouting male, "he's just being a baby about his training this morning. Could we get a couple fish please?" Plue asked

Mira reached down to the cooler underneath the bar and pulled out two fish handing them both to Happy and Plue, "training?" she questioned and set her elbows down on the bar resting her chin on her hands, "aye," Happy chirped, "Natsu's been training ever since he was young to stay fit and get stronger and I guess Lucy helped him out this morning." Happy chuckled behind his fish and Plue joined him. Mira stood back up and place a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, "well, I can say I feel for him. Lucy is a beast when it comes to her workouts, Gray once said that she ran him so ragged that he couldn't move his limbs for two whole days, he hasn't trained with her again since. I suppose it's understandable though, Erza was the one to train her first and we all know how she is." Plue let out a knowing laugh while Happy just gave her a confused look, "oh don't worry Happy, you will find out soon enough." Mira winked at him then went about her work handing out drinks and food, "is this Erza lady really that mean?" Happy looked at Plue and Plue shook his head, "Erza is a fine tuned warrior toughened by her hardships in life yes but she also has a kind heart. Though when it comes to Lucy, that is the only time Erza will ever shed all of her armor, from what I have heard before my time here Lucy attached herself to Erza within the first day of her joining Fairy Tail and I guess it was the same for Erza. They just clicked and have been together ever since, so it's unsurprising that Lucy takes after Erza sometimes." Plue looked to Natsu who had passed out and was now snoring away, "I'm actually amazed he was able to still walk this morning, your partner is pretty strong." Happy smiled at the complement for his friend then went back to eating his fish.

"NATSUUUU!"

Natsu's eyes snapped open and he jolted out of his seat causing him to fall off his stool and crash to the ground, "owww…" he groaned rubbing the back of his head, "geez…what Luce?" Natsu turned his head and watched her run up to him, she crouched down to his level and gave him a weird look, "whatcha doin' on the ground weirdo?" Natsu rolled his eyes at her then raised his hand to her, Lucy smiled and grabbed it pulling him up with her as she stood back up, "come on sleepy head I found a good mission for us!"

Natsu paled, " _job?!_ You killed me this morning! I don't have the energy to do anything now!"

It was Lucy's turn to roll her eyes, "oh come on, you can't tell me that a little workout can knock you out for the rest of the day, who are you, Gray? How do you expect to get stronger with an attitude like that?"

This woman was a demon…and he was pretty sure she insulted him comparing him with that Gray guy…

" _FINE!_ We'll go on the stupid job…" Natsu growled out throwing his hands in the air and Lucy beamed at him, "I don't know why you're so angry, weren't you the one that said you needed to make money quickly so you and Happy could move into your own place? Though you still haven't told me why…do you not like living with me and Plue?" Lucy gave him puppy dog eyes and shot her bottom lip out and Natsu had to turn away to hide the blush that coated his cheeks, one she was fucking adorable…two he really had no business thinking about this morning again, "of course we like living with you…we just need our own place is all…" he cleared his throat then looked at her, "I didn't mean any offence by it, I'm sorry."

"naaah..." Lucy shook her head, "don't worry about it," she grabbed his hand, "come on, let's get this job done really quick. It's not far away so we will be back today and the pay is nice too." she smiled up at him then looked to their two companions sitting on the bar watching their interaction, "Happy, Plue come on, you're coming too!"

"AYE MA'AM!" they both shouted out summoning their wings to catch up to the two wizards.

"So, what's this job we have to do?" Natsu questioned once they were walking away from the guild. Instead of answering him she handed him the job flyer, "let's see…" he said as he read the flyer, "Shirotsume Town huh…" he looked back at Lucy, "you do realize that we will have to take a train there if we want to get back today, right?" he watched Lucy tug on her scarf and paled considerably then turned a little green, she swallowed thickly, "…a-a-aye…" Natsu hesitated for a moment before going back to the flyer, "Duke Everlue has a book called _'Daybreak'_ and the client wants us to infiltrate his mansion and destroy the book? That's a little weird…but for 200,000 jewel can't be picky I suppose. Considering what I have left and then splitting the reward with you I would still have more than enough to get a place and the essentials for it." he looked back at Lucy and smiled before reading the rest of the flyer, "please note that Everlue is a dirty old man who is currently looking for maids with…blonde…hair…" suddenly this mission wasn't looking so great anymore.

"I ain't doin' it if that's what you're thinking…"

Natsu looked back at Lucy, she had crossed her arms and was glaring at the ground, "that little pervert isn't getting me into a maid outfit…" she hissed out and Natsu was torn between being immensely relieved and being somewhat disappointed though he wasn't sure why he would be disappointed…ok maybe he did but he wasn't about to admit it, "alright…how are we supposed to finish this job then?" he raised a brow when she grinned at him, "don't worry, just leave that to me!"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders and then grinned back, "if you say so, lets head to the station. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back." he almost laughed when she paled again and let out a little whine.

* * *

"I'm never riding one of those things ever again…"

Natsu laughed this time and Lucy growled at him, they had made it to Shirotsume Town fairly quickly though not quick enough for Lucy, "let's just get to the damn clients' house so we can get this mission done…" Natsu smirked and Happy and Plue laughed when she stomped away from with an angry huff, she was something else.

When they made it to their clients' mansion Lucy could tell something was off by the way it smelled something was definitely fishy but she decided to keep it to herself for the time being. Natsu's suspicions were elevated with Lucy's when their client, Kaby Melon, and his wife raised the reward to 2 million jewel instead of the 200,000 he originally posted just to destroy this book in Everlues' possession but he kept it to himself as well.

Something told them both that they weren't getting paid for this mission but went along with it anyways.

"Alright Luce, how we getting this done?" Natsu questioned once they were standing outside Everlues' place.

Lucy smirked and then wiggled her brows at him, "simple, follow me." she said and he watched Plue grab her vest and flew up to the roof of the large home, Happy grabbed hold of his dress shirt and followed them up setting him down once they made it to where Lucy and Plue were.

He then pinched the bridge of his nose and rested his other hand on the hilt of his sword when he spotted her burning a hole in one of the windows then reached in and unlocked it allowing them entrance, "you do realize this is breaking and entering right?" he questioned with a raised brow when she jumped inside.

She peeked her head back out to look at him still standing on the roof and shrugged her shoulders giving him a bright toothy grin, "eh…we'll just be stealthy, like ninjas!" he rolled his eyes when she wrapped her scarf around her head so only her eyes were showing, "yes…very stealthy…" he whispered but smiled at her and jumped inside anyways, "assuming this is like every other mansion the guy has to have a library somewhere. The book should be there." Natsu pointed once they were quietly making their way through the vast hallways, "you must have been in a lot of mansions to know something like that- "she trailed off when she opened a random door and peeked inside. While she was looking in the room she wasn't able to see Natsu flinch and Happy quickly waving his arms back and forth when Plue turned around too, "u-uh…yea…sure." he cursed under his breath for his stupid response and slip up but made sure to smile at her once she looked at him again, Happy slapped a paw to his forehead, "nothing in there, let's keep moving." she stated and walked ahead of him.

Happy flew up and bopped Natsu on the back of his head, "NATSU!" he hissed quietly, "I know Happy! Keep it down…" Natsu hissed back, "keep what down?" Lucy asked and looked at them over her shoulder, Plue had landed on her head and was looking at them as well, "nothing, don't worry Luce." Natsu quickly smiled at her and she gave him a look like she didn't believe him at first before she shrugged and turned her head forward again, the moment she turned her head though the ground in front of her burst upwards and all of a sudden a very large pink haired maid was standing before them, "looks like the master has some intruders."

Immediately after that the ground behind the maid burst again and there standing wielding various brooms and mops were four more…interesting...looking maids, "LET'S TAKE THEM OUT VIRGO!" they all shouted out in unison.

The four weren't sure what they were looking at really, the maids seriously looked like they belong in a zoo.

Plue flew off of Lucy's head to hover next to Happy behind Natsu while they waited for the fight about to happen, "could you tell us where the library is? We need to get there as quickly as possible."

Natsu, Happy and Plue sweat dropped at Lucy's question, she can't seriously be that oblivious can she?

They all watched the large maid jump high in the air and headed straight for Lucy, "no?" Lucy questioned again before the maid belly flopped on top of her, "LUCY!" Natsu shouted and went to help her but was suddenly surrounded by the other maids, "oh no you don't! We'll stop you here and now!" they shouted then charged at him. Happy and Plue flew higher up so that they wouldn't be caught in the on slot, Natsu glared at them then drew his sword and in the blink of an eye all of the maids' weapons were cut in half and they were all laying on the ground knocked out, "wow…he's actually really good…" Plue said in awe and Happy just smirked.

Natsu quickly turned around with the intention of helping free Lucy but stopped dead in his tracks when the maid began rising up with Lucy pushing, Natsu gawked at her strength and suddenly decided that he wanted to train with her more, "I guess we will just have to keep looking ourselves then!" Lucy then threw the maid in the air then lit her foot on fire sending a vicious kick to the maid and sent her flying over the second story banner.

"Well…now that that's taken care of let's find this book!" Lucy grinned walking away again leaving Natsu standing there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Plue floated down and used a paw to snap Natsu's jaw shut, "careful lover boy, you were drooling." Happy quietly snickered following Plue to catch up to Lucy.

Natsu flushed a very bright red and dropped his gaze to his boots slowly following behind his three companions.

Luckily for them the next set of doors they opened revealed a very large library, "wow, didn't think that pudgy guy was actually a bookworm…" Natsu said in awe. It didn't compare to the one back at the Dragneel manor but it was definitely huge, "let's start looking, that book has to be here somewhere." Plue stated flying to one of the shelves to start looking.

Not even five minutes into their searching Happy shouted, "GUYS LOOK! I found a book and it's shiny!"

Natsu sighed, "Happy quit playing around we have to find that b- HOLY SHIT YOU FOUND IT!" he yelled once he seen the book Happy was holding and sure enough in big bold letters was the title _'Daybreak'_.

Natsu's eyes narrowed on the book, it was giving off faint pulses magical energy and it seemed that Lucy could feel it too if her bristling up once she was standing next to him was anything to go by, "something isn't right about this book…" Natsu spoke quietly while he studied it further.

It was written by the famous author, Kemu Zaleon, an author Natsu was very acquainted with. He and his mother use to sit on their library and read his books together in his childhood and he was positive that he had read everything the man had ever written…so where the hell had this book come from and why is there only a single copy of it, "there's a secret about this book and I'm going to find out what it is…"

Lucy gave him a confused look, "how are you going to do that?"

Natsu smirked at her, "on top of my dashingly good looks, toned body, strong magic and fighting skills, I'm also a bookworm."

Lucy raised a brow and then snorted, "where'd the cocky attitude come from all of a sudden?"

"It's always been there," Natsu casually said looking back at the book and opening it up, "I'm just a gentleman first and foremost."

 _'At least that's how I was raised to be, mom would kick my ass if I behaved otherwise…'_ he thought

What Natsu didn't see was the slight pink that dusted Lucy's cheeks before it quickly disappeared, "uh-huh…alright bookworm, what's with that book?" she asked placing her hands behind her head while she studied Natsu.

Natsu's brows furrowed as he continued to read, "…I don't know…but this book is definitely hid- "

Natsu was interrupted when the ground in front of the doors to the library burst and out popped the ugly little man known as Duke Everlue, "well well, what do we have here? A couple of thieves looking to pilfer 'Daybreak' from me huh? _boyoyo_ "

" _Boyoyo_?" Lucy whispered while stepping in front of Natsu, she pointed a finger at Everlue, "you're really weird you know that? Not Natsu and Happy weird because I like their weirdness, you on the other hand just seem annoying." Lucy shrugged her shoulders and placed her hands back behind her head not noticing everyone stunned by her brashness yet again, Natsu and Happy both blushed at her statement, "…r-regardless…I will not allow you to continue to place your filthy hands all over _my_ possessions, COME FORTH VANISH BROTHERS!" Everlue yelled out.

The four watched as part of the bookshelves parted to reveal a secret entrance and standing in that entrance was two men, "you called upon us sir?" they heard a casual, slightly bored voice, "can you believe these punks are from the Fairy Tail guild?"

At the last statement Lucy's eyes narrowed and she brought her hands back to her sides, Plue walked up to her and tapped her leg, "Lucy be careful, that symbol on their arms, that belongs to the Southern Wolves. They are a mercenary guild…"

Lucy scoffed, "got yourself some bodyguards huh?"

" _Boyoyo_ , the Southern Wolves are always starved for fresh game and you thieves' shall be the main course." Everlue mocked while pulling on his mustache.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "yea ok, whatever you say little man. OI! BOOKWORM!"

Natsu looked up from the book and pointed the slayer with a weak glare, "you go on and figure out just what that stupid thing is hiding, I'll handle the three morons." Lucy looked back at two mercenaries and the Duke before looking over her shoulder again, "Happy, Plue you guys go with him, keep him covered."

"Are you sure Lu?" Plue nervously asked not really wanting to leave her side in case she needed help. Lucy gave him a bright grin, "these guys are small fry- "she was interrupted when the two brothers shouted _'HEY!'_ but she completely ignored them, "-I'll catch up with you guys in no time, don't worry."

Natsu hesitated for a moment then moved to exit the large library through a door on their right, "fine, we'll go but you better meet up with us soon and in one piece, got it?!"

Lucy didn't bother looking at him only waved her hand, "yea yea got it, one piece, geez, you guys have no faith…" she pouted still looking at their enemies, Natsu shook his head and ran through the door with Plue and Happy flying behind him.

Almost as soon as Natsu left, Everlue started to disappear below the ground, "you two take care of blondie here, I'm going after pinky." then he vanished underground, " _HEEEEEEEEEY!_ " Lucy pouted again, "that's not fair…you can't just go disappearing underground, COME BACK SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!"

"I think you'll find your hands more than full with us and we promise you won't be meeting up with your friends."

Lucy looked back up at the two and smirked before giving them a bright grin, "alright, I'm all fired up now!"

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure how but they somehow managed to find their way to the sewer when he had plopped himself down and was currently quickly going through the book with a special set of glasses he always kept with him in an attempt at figuring out just what secret this book was holding. The room of the sewer had been shaking on and off since they made it down there and the three could only assume that it was Lucy's doing, "I hope she's alright…" Happy trailed off while looking up at the ceiling, "don't worry about Lucy, I'm sure she's just fine. How bout you Natsu? Did you figure out what's with that book yet?" Plue asked looking down at the man.

Natsu snapped the book closed and took off his glasses, "aye, I figured it out and it was definitely worth fin- "Natsu suddenly jumped up and out of the way when the wall behind him burst open with Everlue popping out, " _boyoyo_ , well then mind telling me exactly what secrets that pathetic man decided to hide in my property? I did have the book commissioned after all…"

Natsu snorted at the man while Happy and Plue landed on the ground behind him, "yea-no…not happening because I'm not telling you shit." Natsu reached into his key pouched and touched a key, _'Cancer, please allow me the use of your armor'_ he didn't have to wait long before his call was answered, _'you got it boss *ebi* just let me know when'_

"A celestial wizard ey? Well that will do you no good against my diver magic!" Everlue quickly vanished underground.

Natsu turned his head in all direction waiting, with his hand on Cancers' key, for the opportune moment to use his magic, Everlue suddenly popped up directly underneath him and he quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the pudgy man's grasp, "I don't understand why you are adamant about keeping that book from me, it's hard to believe that something as poorly written as that was created by the great Kemu Zaleon- "Everlue disappeared beneath the ground only to swiftly pop back up underneath Natsu but he was quick to jump away yet again, "-IT IS INEXCUSABLE!" Everlue shouted before diving back into the earth, "your arrogance knows no bounds does it?" Natsu questioned while glaring at the ground, "you had to blackmail Zaleon to write this book for you by threatening to take away his families citizenships…"

Plue and Happy gasped from behind Natsu, "…that's horrible…if his family lost their citizenships then they wouldn't have been able to join any of the guilds and make a living…does he really have the power to do that?" Plue whispered out

"I HAVE THE POWER TO DO ANYTHING!" Everlue shouted then burst from the ground once again and landed in front of Natsu.

Natsu lowered his glare to the floor, "…you locked him up…for three years…DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ON HIM?! ON HIS FAMILY?!" Natsu shouted lifting his head to glare at the small man in front of him, "tell me, how do you even know all this in the first place." Everlue asked keeping his eyes locked on Natsus' form.

Natsu held the book up, "it's all right here, in this book."

Everlue gave Natsu a confused look, "that's impossible…I've read that book from cover to cover and that worthless author is nowhere in it…"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "and in your case you would be right but what you didn't know what before Kemu was an author…he was a wizard."

Everlues' eyes grew wide, "…what did he do?" he hissed through clenched teeth

Natsu smirked, "after he finished the book he gathered the last of his remaining strength and cast a spell on the book."

Everlues' fists shook with pent up rage, "of all the dirty…rotten…" the disappeared underground again only to advance on Natsu with every step and jump he took to get away, "GET OVER YOUR SELF!" Natsu shouted while he continued to dodge Everlue, "it's true that he did write about all the pain and torture that you put him through over his years in confinement but that is only a small fraction of the actually story within, in fact what was written has absolutely NOTHING to do with you at all!"

Everlues' eyes grew wide and he gaped at the rose-haired man before him, "wh-what do you mean?!"

Natsu took up his fighting stance while handing the book over to Plue and Happy, "we are not giving this book back to you because it was never yours to begin with…" he calmly stated pushing his magic into the key his fingers were brushing against, _'Cancer, if you would please.'_

Natsus' body began to glow with a bright golden light before it quickly vanished to reveal him covered head to toe in bright red armor, the only spot visible of him were his piercing onyx colored eyes from the small opening in the helm. While Aquarius' armor allowed him the use of her spells and some defense, Cancer's armor gives him a massive increase in defense while also giving him the ability to slice or crush any material known to man. Where a set of gauntlets would normally adorn his hands there was a pair of vicious looking crab claws, the only downfall to this armor was his speed was greatly reduced to make up for the massive defense increase.

What Natsu was not ready for, however, was Everlue pulling out his own key and summoning a spirit from the Celestial world, "I don't know how you managed to summon the Celestial armor but that won't save you now, OPEN! GATE OF THE MAIDEN! COME FORTH VIRGO!"

Natsu tsked, "I thought something felt familiar about that pink haired maid…just didn't think she was a zodiac spirit…" he said quietly when the gorilla maid appeared before them.

"VIRGO! RETRIEVE THAT BOOK AND CRUSH THAT PATHETIC MAN!" Everlue shouted while pointing at Natsu, "As you command master" the gorilla maid calmly stated and Natsu sighed, "I do apologize Virgo…I do not wish to harm you at all…" he said with a heavy heart while he got into fighting positon lifting the claws of his armor into the air.

Virgo moved quickly and ran towards the armor man, Natsus' body tensed ready for the impact of the giant maid but before she even got close she was suddenly being forced to the ground creating a very large crater. Natsu blinked stupidly before looking closer at Virgo's back and there was Lucy, Natsu looked directly above her and seen one of the many holes that Everlue created, "WHEN I SAY DON'T MOVE I MEAN IT!" Lucy suddenly shouted, "geez…do you know how hard it was to track your scent with all this nasty around here?!" she huffed and crossed her arms while she continued to stand on Virgo's back, "LUCY!" Happy and Plue shouted and she turned to the sound of their voices, "oh! HEY GUYS!" she gave them a bright smile then focused on Natsu, "WOAH! NATSU YOU LOOK SO COOL!" she shouted as she ran up to him.

"WOOOOOOOOOW!" she awed at him while running her hands all over the suit. Even though Natsu couldn't feel her hands he couldn't help but feel somewhat violated by her fingers and the thought made him blush as bright as the red of his armor, "L-L-LUCE! C-can you cut it out now please…we do still have a battle to win after all…" he pleaded with the clueless slayer.

She blinked up at him then turned her head to look over her shoulder, Virgo had gotten back up and was standing next to Everlue once again, "oh…well damn. I thought we were done." she laughed then got into a fighting position next to Natsu, "keep Virgo occupied for me while I go after Everlue, sound good?"

Lucy didn't look at him but did grin and lit her hands on fire, "aye" and then ran full speed towards the spirit engaging her in combat.

Natsu turned his attention back to the tiny man and ran as quickly as his armor allowed towards him, he swung his claw out intending on capturing Everlue in a crushing grip but only caught air as Everlue used his diver magic to disappear back underground.

Natsu let out an aggravated sound and then grunted when Everlue's body suddenly hit Natsus' then vanished again, this happened several more time with Everlue laughing all the while, "did you honestly think you could defeat me with that measly Celestial power?" his voice rang out all around him and it just proved to make Natsu angrier.

Natsu stood completely still and closed his eyes taking a deep breath in and out, he blocked out the sounds Lucy was making while she fought Virgo, he blocked out the shouts and cheers of Happy and Plue, he blocked out everything until the only thing he could hear was silence. He waited, straining his ears to listen for any hints of Everlue beneath the ground and it was around then that he wished he had Lucy's hearing. However, he didn't have any more time to dwell on that thought because he was able to pick up on the faint sounds and vibrations underneath him. Natsu grinned then jumped up just as Everlue burst through the ground underneath him and Natsu quickly swung a claw around and snapped it shut, "AAAAHHHH! RELEASE ME YOU WRECH!" Everlue shouted and Natsu could feel him struggle within his grasp, he opened his eyes and sure enough Everlue was stuck with no way out, "not so measly now is it?" he questioned before lifting Everlue higher up. His black eyes bore into Everlues' beady ones and Natsu watched as he swallowed and sweat started trickling down his face, "and for the record," he brought Everlue closer to his face, glaring at him behind his armor, "I'm a _Celestial Warrior_ …" with that Natsu quickly slammed Everlue against the ground then lifted the dazed man back in the air and chucked him away with enough power that when he hit the wall Natsu was aiming for he left a crater knocking the man out cold. The moment Everlue lost consciousness Virgo was forced back to the Celestial world.

They had won.

* * *

The group high-tailed it out of the mansion before the authorities arrived and headed back to the clients' house. He was not happy with the group at first once Natsu presented the book to the man stating that if he really wanted it destroyed, then he should do it himself. The moment that Kaby tried to burn the book a magic circle suddenly appeared blinding them all with a bright flash of light everyone was stunned and watched as the words within the book suddenly flew up and jumbled themselves in the air before returning to the book. The last thing that happened was the letters on the cover rearranged themselves and spelled out _'Dear Kaby'_ , when the magic was finished casting the book floated back into Kaby's hands and he collapse to the ground. Natsu had stated that the book was his ultimate master piece and it was everything that Zaleon had ever wanted to say to his son.

Kaby and his wife were unsure of what to say and simply cried, however, the moment Natsu and Lucy tried to walk out of the house they were stopped, "W-WAIT! What about your reward?" Kaby questioned stopping them at the door.

Natsu and Lucy looked to each other while Plue and Happy landed on their shoulders, then looked back at the man and smiled, "even if you could pay us sir we couldn't accept it, we didn't complete the job." Lucy stated, "…I-I don't understand…" Kaby quietly stated and Natsu smiled, "we knew from the very beginning that we were never going to get paid for this job and even if you could we can't accept the reward. You clearly posted that you wanted the book destroyed and we failed to do so."

Lucy smiled at the distraught man, "it would look bad for Fairy Tail if we did but thank you anyways and make sure you make it home safe." Lucy winked at them then turned around to follow Natsu and Happy home.

* * *

 ** _~AN~_**

 ** _UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!_**

 ** _I never liked this arc….bleh….even bigger pain to write….more bleh…._**

 ** _Hope you like it though and you'll have to let me know how I did!_**

 ** _UNTIL NEXT TIME AS ALWAYS!_**

 ** _Much love from a tkitty! XD_**


	5. AUTHORS NOTE

_**Hey, so I figured it was probably about time that I talked to you guys and explain my extremely long absence.**_

 _ **I've been battling some very severe depression for the past couple months. It was bad enough that with one more tiny little push, I wouldn't have been here anymore.**_

 _ **A lot of bad things happened since around the middle of summer and I don't really want to get too into that but it has been very difficult to handle anything at all.**_

 _ **BUT…**_

 _ **I did go and get help.**_

 _ **I did talk to somebody and was put on some meds to help get my brain back into an, at least somewhat, functioning form again. I started going to College to help give me a purpose again and feel good about myself again.**_

 _ **However,**_

 _ **I've been dealing with some new issues regarding my hands and frankly it just irritates me and upsets me…**_

 _ **I have to have surgery on my left hand and elbow to repair nerve damage, I'll be in a soft cast for about 2-3 weeks then I'll have to go through physical therapy to help gain my strength back. I'll hopefully have that done during Christmas break so I have enough time to heal and not have to worry about stress.**_

 _ **Not too bad right?**_

 _ **Bleh…**_

 _ **After that I'll have to have another surgery on my right hand and elbow, I'll be in a hard cast for about 6-7 weeks and gaining strength back in that one will take me a few YEARS…**_

 _ **Why?**_

 _ **Because I, SOME HOW, have arthritis in my hand and it's causing damage in my entire arm…**_

 _ **I'm 29 years old…I shouldn't already have arthritis…**_

 _ **So, it's just irritating and just taxing on my body :(**_

 _ **BUT!**_

 _ **I AM DOING BETTER! Despite the new depressing news of what I'll have to go through in the very near future, I'm doing better. I've been trying very hard to fix myself and make myself better and having so much support and even having some of you randomly messaging me asking how I am and why you haven't seen anything from me in a while, really did help. Made me feel like I would have been missed if I didn't get help.**_

 _ **Thank you guys, VERY MUCH.**_

 _ **I know it might not seem like much to you, but you helped save my life, and I am very grateful.**_

 _ **Until Next Time,**_

 _ **Very Much Love From A Tkitty**_


	6. Chapter 5

"So let me see if I understand…" Mira said while she poured a drink for the Celestial Warrior then handed a fresh fish to both Happy and Plue, "you four made it back home from the job but didn't get paid for it because, one, you technically didn't complete the mission and would look bad for Fairy Tail if you had accepted the reward and two, the client wouldn't have been able to pay you anyways because they were actually poor but were desperate enough for the books destruction that they chanced the anger of guild wizards despite knowing that they couldn't pay it. Then because you didn't get paid for what should have been a quick few hours' job ended up being a _'now we have to spend the night in the woods with no supplies because we don't have the money for a train home and didn't think we needed to bring anything with'_ deal." Mira lifted her fingers making quotations as she spoke.

Natsu groaned and flopped on the counter, "my back still hurts…"

Mira giggled and patted his head, "aww, you poor baby~" she cooed earning a glare from the man, "anyways…" she waved his glare away, "You start your walk back home today only to run into Gray who was also on his way home from a mission and had to wait until Lucy and him were through with their insult match and somewhere in the mist of all the commotion they were causing Happy and Plue were kidnapped and almost eaten by a group of unknown wizards?" she questioned and rose a trim brow, "…aye…" Happy whimpered, "what kind of crazy people actually think cats are food anyways…" Plue pouted then bit down hard on his fish.

Mira scratched them both behind their ears before turning her attention back to Natsu, "so then after you beat up the strange men and tied them to a tree one of the guys started whispering something about a lullaby and almost immediately afterwards the tree they were tied too was pulled farther underground essentially burying the mages but you still have no idea how or why and when you guys dug to try and find them they were gone; that is pretty strange…"

Natsu nodded his head still resting on the counter before sitting back up to look at the barmaid better, "after that incident we finished our walk back to the guild, though it was not a peaceful one I can tell you that…" they both looked towards the middle of the guild where Lucy and Gray were currently brawling, "they haven't stopped since we ran into Gray in the woods." Natsu pouted and turned back to look at Mira, "I understand their clashing elements to be the cause of their constant fights…but this is a bit much don't you think?" he jumped slightly when Gray's body suddenly crashed into the bar and slumped to the ground, Natsu rolled his eyes at the state of the ice mage, "dude…seriously…why do you strip? It's a bit disturbing ya know…"

"OI! SHUT UP PINKY! OR DO YOU WANNA GO TOO?!" Gray jumped to his bare feet and grabbed Natsu by his collar forcing him to his feet, Natsu narrowed his eyes then reached up and wrapped his hand around Gray's wrist, "one…don't call me pinky again, I guarantee I'll make you regret it and two…I am not fighting someone who refuses to wear anything and speaking of that, PUT SOME FUCKING CLOTHES ON!" Natsu shouted then cocked his fist back and slammed it into Gray's jaw stunning the man enough that he released Natsu's shirt and stumbled back a few steps.

Gray rubbed his jaw and then grinned at Natsu, "heh…didn't think you had any balls to fight anybody, hell of a hit by the way." Natsu smirked at the man and watched him walk away, still in nothing but his boxers, before sitting back down, he looked up at Mira and smiled, "yup…you fit in just fine here." Mira giggled then walked away.

"awwww…Natsuuuuuuu~" Lucy whined while heavily sitting down on the bar stool next to the man, "you made the ice dick quit, now I'm all bored…" she pouted and sprawled out on the counter, squishing her face against the wood.

Natsu chuckled and patted the back of Lucy's head, "sorry Luce" before Natsu had a chance to say more he was interrupted by a low smooth sounding voice, "Lucy my love, I'm so glad you're back! I was so worried about you" the voice cooed and Natsu watched as a man with bright orange spiky hair walked up and slid his arm around Lucy's shoulders, an act that very quickly irritated Natsu. He kept his gaze forward but pinned the offending arm with a subtle sideways glare and bit his tongue to keep from speaking exactly what was on his mind, "I missed you my princess," he heard the bastard whisper to Lucy causing him to grit his teeth and ball his fists until his knuckles were white, "Loke…if you don't remove your arm from my shoulder, I'm gonna snap it off…and in case you forgot, imma' dragon…not a princess…" she hissed out while keeping her face smooshed against the counter, Natsu had to bite back not only the relieved sigh that wanted to escape but also the laugh that was bubbling up at Loke's defeated face, "Lucy…you wound me so," Loke dramatically placed a hand over his heart and faked pain, Natsu couldn't help the eye roll.

Loke finally looked next to Lucy at Natsu and smiled at the pink haired male, "yo," he called out in greeting while holding his hand out for Natsu to shake, "names Loke. Didn't get a chance to introduce myself with all that craziness the day you were brought in." Natsu gripped the man's hand in a firm handshake and smirked, "Natsu, and that's alright, it was pretty crazy." Natsu chuckled and Loke joined in, "so, what do you think of Fairy Tail so- "Loke suddenly paled and his eyes grew wide, Natsu rose a brow, "you ok man?" Natsu reached a hand out to place on his shoulder but Loke quickly backed away, "a-a-a-are those…gate keys?!" he stuttered while pointing to Natsu's key pouch resting along his ribs.

Natsu furrowed his brows, he looked down at his pouch then back up at the now trembling man, "uh…yea they are. I'm a Celestial Warr- "he didn't get a chance to finish before Loke suddenly took off running towards the main doors of the guild hall, "SORRY MAN! WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS!" Loke shouted and shoved through the doors.

Natsu wasn't sure what to make of the situation, "the hell was that?" he questioned under his breath, "don't worry about him," Lucy's muffled voice called out.

Natsu turned his head to look at her, "what do you mean?"

"What she means is- "Natsu turned his head to look at Mira who was standing behind the bar again, "-don't worry about Loke. He's like that with all Celestial wizards."

"…why?" he questioned narrowing his eyes slightly at the white-haired woman, "he has a bad history with Celestial wizards, rumor has it he dated one a while back and I guess it didn't end well."

Natsu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "guess I should have expected that one…I heard the guy was a bit of a playboy…" Mira simply giggled at him before going back to her work cleaning some glasses.

Natsu twisted on his stool to fully face Lucy, she had finally moved some and was now resting her chin on the counter instead of her entire face, staring blankly at the wall in front of her that housed several shelves full of various types of alcohol, "whadda ya say Luce? Wanna look for a new job with me? I still need jewels for a new place." he chuckled when she grinned brightly at him and jumped out of her seat pumping a fist into the air, "AYE! I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the request board.

Before they had a chance to look over the requests -however- the doors to the guild slammed open and a panting Loke was standing there, "BAD NEWS! ERZA! SHE'S ON HER WAY HERE" he shouted listening to his voice echo a few times within the oddly silent guild.

Natsu found it extremely weird that a few seconds after that complete chaos ensued in the form of everyone panicking. The next thing he found strange was the moment Erza's name was voiced Lucy's abnormally high body heat vanished from his side, he turned his head and sure enough she was gone, "where did Lucy go?" he whispered to himself while looking all around the hall, "you'll understand in a minute. Just wait." Mira had walked to stand next to Natsu while they watched everyone else becoming more nervous the moment they began to hear boots clicking against the ground and were steadily approaching the guild.

Natsu's eyes grew wide the moment Erza finally came into view, she was carrying -what looked like- a large horn or claw from a monster above her head…with one hand, "holy shit…" he croaked, understanding now why everyone feared the Titania of Fairy Tail.

Erza finally stopped directly in the middle of the guild and set the large object down with a loud thud, "I have returned, where is Master?" just her voice alone commanded complete and total obedience from those around her and Natsu couldn't help but thickly swallow, backing up slightly; she was definitely an intimidating woman, "welcome back Erza, the Master's at a conference right now." Mira informed her seemingly completely unfazed by the red heads presence.

"I see..."

"S-so uh…what's with that humungous thing you got there?" Natsu looked at the man that had asked and if he was correct the guys' name was Max, "It's the horn of a monster that I defeated. The locals were so thankful that they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?" she quickly asked and Natsu watched Max begin to shake while quickly stammering out "N-N-N-NO MA'AM! NOT AT ALL!"

Erza hummed before turning her attention on the entire guild, "NOW LISTEN UP! While I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov might not care but I do! Our reputation as the number one guild will not be tarnished by trouble makers and I make it my solemn duty to hand out punishment to those responsible." she pinned a glare on every single member within the hall that she could see before finally slumping with a loud sigh and closed her eyes, "however…at the moment I have more important matters to attend to- "Natsu found it almost comical that every member let out a, not so quiet, relieved sigh, "-where is Lucy?" she questioned next and everyone, including Natsu, shrugged their shoulders, "she was just here a moment ago…" someone spoke up.

Before Natsu had a chance to really comprehend what exactly happened Lucy was there, on top of Erza, after tackling the red head to the floor, "YES, FINALLY! I GOT YOU ERZIE!" she shouted out while sitting on Erza's stomach throwing her fists into the air.

Everyone paled again and eyes grew wide, they took massive steps away from the squashed Erza as they waited for Lucy's untimely demise, "…Lu-cy…" Erza slowly said from beneath the celebrating dragon. Lucy finally looked down and the smile that was on her face dropped quickly and she paled along with everyone else, she loudly gulped and then ever so slowly crawled backwards until she was on her hands and knees at Erza's feet, "I-I'M SORRY ERZA! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" she shouted out bringing both her hands in front of her face as if she was praying for Erza to spare her, Natsu was actually scared for his friend.

Erza slowly sat up and moved so she was on her knees as well looking down at the cowering slayer, "…Lucy…" she said quietly again causing Lucy to squeak, an act that Natsu found incredibly adorable but couldn't react to it out of fear, "a-a-aye m-ma'am?" she stuttered chancing a peak at the older woman.

Before Lucy had a chance to prepare herself Erza suddenly tackled her and slammed her back to the floor, "OH! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Erza cooed at the blond while nuzzling her face against Lucy's, "you really got me that time, I was so busy in my own thoughts that I didn't have time to prepare myself, well done little sister!"

The guild was quiet for more than a minute before every member shouted out, " _ **WHAT?!**_ "

Erza smiled and stood up dusting herself off then reached down and grabbed Lucy's hand yanking her off the ground and back to her feet, "what does that make the score now?" she questioned raising a brow at the younger girl, "uh…" Lucy thought while tapping her chin, "7,416 to 1 but I got you! I finally got you!" she smiled a large fanged smile and Erza couldn't help but smile back, "aye, that you did." she then grabbed the back of Lucy's head and slammed her against her metal breast plate, "I have missed you, baby sister…" she whispered. Lucy wrapped her arms around Erza's waist and squeezed her with as much force as she could produce, "I'm missed you too, Erzie"

Natsu couldn't help but smile at the two, he understands now why Lucy is so attached to Erza and Erza to Lucy, they were made for each other, "OH, OH! ERZIE! I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU! I HAVE A NEW FRIEND! CAN I KEEP HIM?! Well actually he's my best friend, BUT STILL! CAN I?! CAN I?! CAN I, PLEEEEEASE?!" she yelled and pleaded while gripping Erza's shoulders and shook her back and forth.

Natsu slapped his forehead, "did she seriously just ask that?" he whispered to himself but loud enough for everyone around him to hear, Mira quietly laughed at him and before he had a chance to say anything to her his view was blocked by Happy landing on his left shoulder, "she liiiiikes you~" he rolled his tongue while wiggling his brows at Natsu. Natsu's face burst into a brilliant shade of red, "S-S-SHU-" Plue landed on his right shoulder next, interrupting his outburst, "she wants to keeeeep you~" he rolled his tongue causing him and Happy to snicker behind their paws at the flustered man. It was at that point that Natsu seriously wondered if you could actually eat cats because he had two that needed to be skewered and roasted over an open flame right now, "it's not like that and you both know it…" he hissed at them through gritted teeth, "suuure it's not." Happy laughed as he and Plue summoned their wings, flying out of reach of Natsu's arms when he tried to strangle the cats.

"Woah woah, easy Lucy"

Everyone's attention was brought back to Erza the moment she spoke again, she placed her hands on Lucy's shoulders to keep the dragon from shaking her anymore, "while it is wonderful that you have made a new friend, my interrogations of his worthiness will have to be put on hold," Natsu felt himself begin to sweat and took a couple more steps away from the two, "now, GRAY! FRONT AND CENTER!" Erza shouted.

Gray was in front of her fully clothed within seconds, "AYE MA'AM!" he shouted and stood stiff before her, Natsu couldn't help but wonder if this was the military and not a guild, "very good, now Lucy and Gray, while I was traveling I overheard something that has me worried. Normally I would consult with the Master before acting but since he is unavailable, I must take matters into my own hands. You two are some of our strongest members and I need your help."

To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement, the mighty Titania never needs to ask for help, whatever she discovered must really have her worried to ask Lucy and Gray to accompany her, "NO WAY ERZIE! I'M NOT WORKING WITH THE POPSICLE!" Lucy suddenly shouted while glaring at Gray.

Gray tsked, "like I want to be stuck working with an ashtray…"

" _ **WHAT?!**_ " Lucy screeched feeling her temper boil over, she attempted to jump at the ice mage but Erza wasn't having any of it.

Just before Lucys' fist could meet Grays face she was choked by her own scarf when Erza grabbed it and yanked the slayer back to her side, "THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO! I won't have my family members fighting each other, _especially_ within my presence…now you WILL come with me and you WILL get along or so help me I will _personally_ send the both of you to meet the first master…" a dark aura surrounded Erza's body and everyone within the guild hall couldn't help but cower.

Lucy, who sitting on the ground with her scarf still in Erza's hands, crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, "I don't wanna…" she mumbled and turned her head away from her sister.

Erza sighed and rubbed her forehead before glaring down at the pouting dragon, "…Lucy…"

Lucy felt a chill run up her spine, she growled loudly before throwing her hands in the air, "FINE!" she shouted, "I'll work with the ice dick…" she glared at Gray again, " _BUT_ _ONLY,_ if we take Natsu and Happy with us."

Natsu choked on his spit while Erza rose a brow at Lucy, "that actually might not be a bad idea Erza," she turned her head to look at Mira. Mira placed her hands on Natsu's back and pushed him towards the three, "he might actually be able to keep those two from fighting." Natsu looked over his shoulder with wide eyes at Mira feeling like she just threw him to the wolves but Mira simply winked at him and looked back at Erza, "…I suppose you are right, very well, Natsu" she moved her eyes to said male who thickly swallowed the moment her dark brown eyes landed on him, "you shall accompany us as well. I will give you all an hour to collect your things, you are to be at the train station by the end of said hour, am I clear?"

"AYE MA'AM!" they all shouted.

Lucy jumped to her feet quickly grabbing Natsu's hand then took off towards the guild doors, "HAPPY! PLUE! COME ON!" she shouted over her shoulder before barreling out of the guild.

* * *

"Erza I think it's about time you filled us in on what's going on..."

The small group of wizards had finally met up at the train station and boarded without any problems. The moment the train began moving -however- instantly incapacitated Lucy and she ended up curling on Erza's lap with her arms wrapped around her waist and her face buried in her stomach. Erza was slowly running her fingers along Lucy's neck and shoulders to cox the dragon slayer into falling asleep for the deration of their travels.

"Of course, I have it in good interest that the dark guild called Eisenwald is planning something big though I'm not sure what exactly. The only solid information that I was able to gather was that they are planning on using a magical item called _'lullaby_ '"

"Lullaby?" Natsu and Gray said in unison, "you mean that thing those weird guys mentioned?" Natsu asked afterwards.

Erza gave the men a questioning look, "I see…so you have run into Eisenwald before?"

Gray shook his head, "we're not positive that they were from that guild but they did mention lullaby."

Erza hummed, "it sounds like they were members that dropped out of the guild and went into hiding, perhaps they wanted no part of whatever is coming."

"So…" Natsu spoke up and Erza looked at him, "whatever this thing is, is so bad that it even scares dark wizards?"

"I'm only hypothesizing…but whoever it was that dragged Happy and Plue away must have been from Eisenwald. It's obvious that they didn't want their plans getting out."

"What exactly do you think they're going to try?" Natsu questioned

Erza closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "let me explain from the beginning. It was just the other day I was on my way home from a mission. I had stopped by a bar in Onibas that I knew was a gathering spot for local mages and while I was there I overheard a conversation between a few men. They had stated that they found the location of this so-called lullaby along with the mention of a seal that was placed upon it. A man that was called by the name Kage stated that he could handle this seal and told the other men to not worry and to head back to their guild to inform another man called Erigor that he would be coming back with lullaby in three days' time." Erza opened her eyes looking down at Lucy who was sleeping peacefully on her lap before looking up at the two men across from her, "my concern for this grew with the statement of there being a seal placed on this item; it could only mean that we are dealing with some very powerful magic."

Natsu and Gray nodded their heads, "and you're positive that those guys at the bar were from Eisenwald?"

Erza looked to Natsu and nodded her head, "aye, I cannot believe I was such a fool that day. I didn't recognize his name, Erigor or better known as the Ace of Eisenwald. He only accepts assassination requests, which is why he's earned the name, _Erigor the Reaper_."

"He kills for money?" Gray questioned, feeling slightly put off by the new information and again Erza nodded her head, "when the council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the council's rules and because of that they were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago, however, that didn't stop them, they've disobeyed orders and remained active to this day."

Natsu shook his head once Erza was finished, "that is very unsettling…"

Erza sighed, "if only I wasn't so careless and recognized Erigor's name, I could have pulverized and apprehended them that day. I could have forced them to reveal their plans to me."

"Don't beat yourself up Erza, we will handle this." Natsu smiled at her earning him a smile back.

"So, if I got this right," Gray stated while looking out the window he was sitting next too, "Eisenwald is planning to do something with this lullaby, and you want to stop them because after what you overheard you're sure that it's gonna be something bad?"

Erza nodded her head again, "aye, and I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can take on an entire magic guild by myself, which is why I have asked for yours and Lucys help. Thank you to you as well Natsu and I apologize for my sister forcing you to come along with."

Natsu smiled and shook his head, "don't worry about it Erza, I may have not known Lucy for very long plus Happy and I only just joined the guild but being around her, I feel like I've known her my entire life. She's easy to get along with despite her cluelessness and boisterous attitude, I feel at ease around her."

Erza nodded her head in approval, "so, I am to assume that you are her new best friend then?"

Natsu smiled again and nodded his head at her, "aye, I am."

Erza placed her hand underneath her chin while she looked down at Lucy, "I see- "she lifted her head and looked back at Natsu, "Very well. You seem like a fine young man with a good upbringing, may I ask as to where you are from?"

Natsu and Happy both tensed, an action that did not go unnoticed by either mage. Natsu cleared his throat while looking at Erza, summoning up as much courage as he could, "I do apologize and please do not take offence but, I would rather not talk about my past or my upbringings if you don't mind. It is not exactly something I am comfortable talking about just yet."

Erza stared at him for a few minutes, just studying the man who began sweating and squirming under her scrutinizing eyes before she huffed out a small laugh, "no offence taken. I appreciate your honesty and understand completely that the past is something that is not easily discussed. I will allow your friendship with my sister, however- "her look suddenly turned very dark causing Natsu, Gray, Happy and Plue to sweat and gulp, "should you ever cause her harm or upset her in any way…I will not hesitate to run you through in the worst ways possible. Am I clear?" she threatened raising a brow.

Natsu rapidly nodded his head up and down, "a-aye ma'am!" he yelled

Satisfied with his answer, Erza relaxed and smiled, "good. Now I believe it is time for cake!"

Natsu wasn't sure what to think anymore as he looked down at Happy, sitting between him and Gray, only seeing him shrug his shoulders back, he decided it was best to not overthink it and just enjoy the rest of the train ride.

* * *

Once the small group arrived in Onibas Station, Erza had Natsu carry a groggy Lucy off the train while she gathered her cart and her twenty plus bags to go with it, "geez…does she really need that much stuff?" he quietly whispered to Gray, who was standing next to him, while he held on to Lucys' dead weight. Grey shrugged his shoulders, "don't think I've ever seen her leave on a mission with less bags."

Natsu was about to say more when Happy suddenly blocked his view by fluttering in front of his face, "NATSU! WE LEFT OUR BAG ON THE TRAIN AND IT'S ABOUT TO LEAVE!" he shouted out while panicking, worried that he was going to lose the yummy fishies that he packed for him and Plue, "shit," he cursed under his breath, "Gray, can you take Lucy please?" he didn't give the other male time to deny him as he swung Lucy's arm over his shoulders and took off running to the car they were just in, "where is Natsu going?" Erza questioned walking to stand next to Gray, taking Lucy from him, "left his bag on the train, running to get it before the train leaves." he simply stated and Erza nodded her head.

"Excuse me! Sir!" Natsu shouted to the car attendant who was helping the last couple of people board the train.

"Yes? How can I help you, young man?"

"I need to get back on, I left my bag." Natsu huffed out when he was standing in front of the older man.

The attendant gave Natsu an uneasy look, "the train is about to pull away, you better hurry if you don't want to get stuck riding again." the man moved out of Natsu's way allowing him to board once again, "thank you sir." then he quickly walked to where they were just sitting.

Luckily for him there was no one sitting in the car they had used so finding his bag was easy enough. Reaching up, Natsu pulled his bag from the storage compartment above his head and swung the straps over his shoulders, "whew, that was close." he whispered to himself but as he turned around to leave he ran smack into another man who had just boarded, "I'm sorry man, didn't mean to run into ya like that." Natsu apologized trying to move so that he could walk around the guy. However, when Natsu bumped into him the man had dropped something and when he looked at what it was the guy was quickly bending down to pick up he furrowed his brows, "damn, sucks to be you man," the guy stated once he safely tucked the weird looking stick back into his coat and blocked Natsu's path once more, "gonna have ta get rid of ya now that you've seen my little toy."

"What?" Natsu questioned before barely moving out of the way when the guy summoned magical shadowed claws that attacked, ripping a hole in the right shoulder of Natsus' dress shirt, "well lookie here, a Fairy Tail wizard. Tell me, how's the guild life treatin' ya these day?" the guy chuckled like he made a joke once he seen Natsus' guild mark and to make matters worse the train had pulled out of the station and was on route to its next destination.

Natsu quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked the shadowed claws that were thrown at him again while backing away to put some distance between him and the now hostile man, "look guy, I don't know who the hell you are but if I had to take a guess, I'd say you are the guy we were looking for and that stick you shoved in your coat is actually lullaby, which we are also looking for." he stated while blocking more attacks from the man.

"How the hell- "the man started but was interrupted and thrown forwards, falling to his hands and knees, allowing the strange stick to come toppling out of his coat again, when the train suddenly came to a screeching halt. Natsu barely had enough time to steady himself before he dove for the stick and shoved it into his swords sheath to keep it away from the dark mage before him.

Natsu had just stood back up when a female voice spoke over the trains intercoms, _"we're sorry for the delay, just a false alarm. The train will begin moving in just a moment."_ to which almost immediately afterwards the train started up again throwing Natsu forwards and the other guy back. However, the guy was able to right himself quicker than Natsu could and he unleashed another volley of claws at Natsu who could only raise his sword and block some of the more lethal blows, some of which were pushed to the windowed wall of the car and tore a very large hole in it, but he didn't come out unscathed. Feeling blood oozing out of various cuts on his arms, chest and legs was unnerving but the wound on the right side of his neck worried him the most, he placed his right hand on the bleeding gash, feeling blood slowly seep out from between his fingers, while tightly gripping his sword in his left cursing as the pain began to settle in, he applied as much pressure to the wound as he could; he really didn't feel like bleeding out on a train, Atlas would be pissed.

The guy, enraged about having lost his loot came at Natsu with more force than before trying his hardest to get back what he lost, "GIVE THAT BACK!" he shouted hitting Natsu with even more shadowed claws, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ERIGOR WILL DO TO ME IF HE FINDS OUT I LOST LULLABY!" Natsu was trying his hardest to block the barrage of attacks but his left hand wasn't as quick as his right and that caused him to gain more cuts while trying to make sure he didn't lose even more blood from the wound to his neck. The dark mage let out an inhuman yell and summoned a very large shadowed claw and sent it hurtling towards Natsu, he only had a quick second to tense his body before he was sent flying out of the train car through the large hole the guys' magic created, "NO!" the guy screamed as he ran for the hole he just launched his victim out of summoning a large shadowed hand intending on grabbing Natsu to bring him back onto the train, Natsu had just enough time to turn his body midair and strike at the shadow with his sword while he fell out of range of the guys deadly magic. Luckily for Natsu though Erza was driving a magic car right next to the train and as soon as the group seen Natsu come flying out and watched him fight off a large shadow, Happy and Plue quickly summoned their wings and plucked Natsu out of the air before he could hit the ground.

Natsu coughed and panted trying to get air back into his lungs after the spell knocked the wind out of him while Happy and Plue flew towards the others now parked beside the train tracks, "NATSU!" Happy yelled when Natsu's head rolled to the side, "I-I'm alright little buddy…" he rasped out wincing once they finally set him down on the ground, "Natsu, what happened?" Happy cried coming around to flutter right in front of his face, placing his paws on his cheeks, "yes Natsu, what happened?" Natsu looked past Happy seeing Plue fluttering just behind while Erza and Gray were walking up, she looked to be carrying a first aid kit which Natsu was very grateful for.

Natsu took a deep breath in slowly letting it back out through his mouth, he released his death grip on his sword and let it rest at his side but kept his other hand tightly pressed against his neck, once the other two were kneeling in front of him, Natsu unsheathed lullaby and handed it to Erza, "I-I managed to get lullaby," Erzas' eyes widened as she took the strange looking stick from his trembling hands then listened as he then relayed all that had happened on the train, giving as much detail as he could remember on what he seen and fought against, "I do apologize Erza…" he said once he was finished, "what on Earthland for?" she questioned while pulling his hand away from his neck to rub some magic cream on it to stop the bleeding then quickly bandaged the wound. Natsu closed his watering eyes and hissed at the pain of her prodding at his neck, "I'm sorry," she quietly stated, "s'alright… I apologize for allowing that guy to get the best of me, bastard had me on the ropes from the start and I could do nothing but defend against his attacks, I couldn't even use my magic or my state might have been much worse and for that, I am sorry." Natsu bowed his head in shame completely ignoring the pain it brought.

Erza sighed and shook her head, "no, there is no need to apologize. While it is quite annoying that he got away, I cannot fault you for wanting to stay alive. At least we know that my assumptions were correct and now we know where they are heading, plus we have lullaby in our possession, so you have done more than enough. Good job." Once she was sure that the deep wound on his neck was patched up to the best of their abilities as well as made sure all the smaller cuts and slashes were cleaned and covered, she stood and held her hand out for him, Natsu gave a small grateful smile while grabbing her hand allowing the woman to haul him up to his feet, "that wound is deep," Erza started while point to his neck, "and our first aid kit can only do so much but I was able to get the bleeding to stop and the magic cream should keep it from opening again but you will have a pretty nasty scar."

Natsu raised his right hand to place it on the bandages on the side of his neck, "I'm not worried about a little scar, I'm just glad I was able to hold it closed long enough to get help." Erza smiled then nodded her head before turning to walk back to the car.

"That was some crazy shit man," Natsu looked towards Gray after he bent down to pick up his sword, sheathing it once again, "you look like ass too." Gray laughed and Natsu let out a small chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair, he looked down at himself and seen that there was no saving his clothes at all. His pants were ripped and torn in several places, you could see the bandages peeking through the material. His shirt was definitely a lost cause seeing as his once pristine white dress shirt was now full of holes and mostly dyed red from his blood, "aye, that I do." Gray walked up to him and placed a hand carefully on his shoulder, "great job though." He gave his shoulder a small clap before backing up, Natsu simply smiled and nodded before finally looking around them, "where's Lucy?" he questioned only to be answered by a small whine. Natsu looked at the car watching as Lucy rolled out of the back seat to fall onto the ground below. Erza walked over to her and picked her up making sure she was steady on her feet before jumping into the driver's seat, "Plue, would you please fly Lucy the rest of the way? We need her coherent and ready for the battle ahead of us." She stated while strapping the E-plug back onto her wrist, "why? What for? I mean, we already have lullaby so why are we going into battle?" Plue asked while flying over to sit on top of Lucy's head, "while it is true that we have lullaby, Erigor and his guild are still free and are causing mayhem as we speak, these are dangerous people to just allow to roam free. We must apprehend them and bring them to justice!"

Nobody questioned Erza as they slowly piled into the car, Natsu took a few wobbly steps towards the car, stumbling a bit as he went, Lucy was quick to run to his side to help him into the car, "you ok, Natsu?" she whispered while wrinkling her nose at the offending smell of his blood drenched shirt. Natsu smiled at her and gave a small nod, "I'm alright Luce, just need a few minuets to rest and I'll be good to go." He gave her a pat on the head before he climbed into the back of the car to sit next to Happy across from Gray.

Lucy gave him a worried glance before looking at Erza who simply shook her head and looked forward again, Lucy sighed then closed the door backing up some when Erza allowed her magic to start the car and slowly pull away to head for the nearest road. Plue grabbed onto the back of Lucys' coat and flew off into the air just above the car, "are you ok Lucy?" Plue asked while speeding up to make sure they stayed with Erza, "m'fine, just felt kinda useless ya know?" she sighed out loud while keeping her eyes glued to the car where she knew Natsu was sitting.

Plue furrowed his brows, "why would you feel useless?"

Lucy looked over her shoulder at her feline friend, "because Natsu got really hurt and I was too busy dealing with my motion sickness to help him. He could have died, and we wouldn't have known until later if he hadn't left that train when he did."

Plue had drooped a little at her words, "…aye…"

Lucy slapped both of her hands against her cheeks to rid herself of her depressing thoughts then shook her head, "no need to be stuck in the past Plue, all we can do now is make sure we keep everyone safe and protected." She threw her fist in the air laughing a little when Plue had to move his head to keep from getting punched, "~heeeey~" Plue whined before laughing and agreeing with her, "AYE SIR!" he shouted while increasing his speed to make sure they didn't lose Erza.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **HEY GUYS!**_

 _ **I know it's been like foooooooooorever and I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally sorry about that but life has been kinda crazy lately lol.**_

 _ **I've been busy with my studies with the college and my online courses plus I just had to finish registering my son for kindergarten T_T (why is he getting so big...)**_

 _ **Anyways, I actually started this chapter right after I finished the last chapter but I just never finished it, so I decided to work on it and throw it on up here just to show you guys that, YES! I am still alive! and NO! I'm not planning on not finishing my stories, it...just might take me a while... (hee)**_

 _ **Anyways, you'll have to let me know how I did. I know my writing skills have gotten kinda rusty lately lol and I think this might be a bit shorter then the other chapters BUT I figured you guys would be happy to just have something up. :)**_

 _ **and as always,**_

 _ **MUCH LOVE FROM A TKITTY! XD**_


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